Critically endangered species, famed in pop culture, find home in US

USA Today

5 hours ago

Wild axolotls are a brown-grey color, but they can also be albinos, which are the type frequently shown in media.
Two critically endangered amphibians have found a new home.
SeaWorld San Diego recently acquired two, 10-month-old axolotls, which will be available for public display at the theme park's new Bayside Aquarium, starting Aug. 8, Eric Otjen, vice president of zoological operations, told USA TODAY. Their names are Poppy and Debra.
The axolotls were a part of an illegal animal trade and confiscated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Wildlife Confiscations Network, a program under the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, contacted SeaWorld San Diego to inquire about potential housing, Otjen added.
Axolotls were classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List in 2006. Last assessed in 2019, there were only between 50 and 1,000 axolotls in the wild.
Major threats to axolotls, which are native to southern Mexico City, include residential and commercial development, invasive species, hunting and trapping, and pollution, according to the IUCN.
Despite being endangered, axolotls have been widely represented throughout pop culture in recent years, popping up in animated series, video games like Minecraft and as countless plushies. The Pokémon character Wooper is also thought to be inspired by the amphibian.
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What are axolotls?
Axolotls are paedomorphic salamanders that, unlike other amphibians, do not go through metamorphosis. For example, frogs are born as tadpoles before transforming into adult frogs, but axolotls do not go through this change. Instead, axolotls keep their external gills and other juvenile features throughout all of adulthood, according to the London Natural History Museum.
The special salamanders can live 10-15 years in the wild and grow up to about 3 inches long. Wild axolotls are a brown-grey color, but they can also be albinos, which are frequently depicted in media. They eat mollusks, worms, insect larvae, crustaceans and small fish, according to the museum.
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Specifically, axolotls are native to lakes in southern Mexico City like Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco. But both have been significantly drained to reduce floods, according to the museum. Today, most axolotls are found in the canals of these lakes.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at [e-mail].