Scientists stunned by species' remarkable behavior after being moved from captivity to wild: 'This is pretty big news'
The axolotl — an often smiley-faced salamander known for its ability to regenerate limbs and organs — is showing new powers of adaptability, as individuals bred in captivity are surviving releases into the wild, according to a recent study.
The research has sparked optimism for protecting these unusual creatures that are critically endangered in their native habitat, NPR reported in early May.
Researchers tracked 18 axolotls that had been bred in captivity and released in artificial and restored natural wetlands in southern Mexico City in 2017 and 2018, per the news outlet. They found that animals in the study were hunting, eating, and avoiding predators. The axolotls weren't just surviving but thriving and gaining weight.
"This is pretty big news because when you have animals in captivity, they lose a lot of their behaviors," Alejandra Ramos, the study's lead researcher, told NPR. "Like, they don't know how to recognize a predator, they don't know how to catch prey, and so we were a bit nervous when we released them because we didn't know if they were going to be able to survive."
Axolotls — whose name is connected to Xolotl, the Aztec fire and lightning god — are sometimes called Mexican salamanders, water monsters, or water dogs. Native to lakes in the Mexico City area, they have caught the attention of animal lovers the world over for their distinctive colors and seemingly amiable expressions. They've even become popular pets.
Only about 50 to 1,000 axolotl adults live in the wild, though, according to the Natural History Museum in London. Their numbers have dropped significantly because of factors such as habitat loss and environmental change — sometimes connected to pollution and global temperature increases — as well as overfishing, collection by humans, and dangers from invasive species.
The discovery that captive-bred axolotls can be reintroduced to natural habitats offers hope that wild populations could be re-established. On top of this is the good news that the study's salamanders were able to survive in habitats created by and restored by humans — which bodes well for local preservation efforts.
"If axolotls could survive in man-made habitats, it could help scale back the damaging effects of habitat degradation and climate change," the NPR report summarized.
Saving axolotls could have specific benefits to people, as scientists are still working to understand the animals' cancer-resistant qualities and regenerative bodies. The hope is that studying their unique characteristics could lead to breakthroughs for human health.
Meanwhile, there is strong support for protecting axolotls for their own sake and as indicators of healthy, functioning habitats. There have even been programs to adopt axolotls to save them.
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In the NPR report, Ramos noted a special significance for the Mexican researchers. "They're part of our culture, they're part of our history. And that makes them really special to us," she said.
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