Axolotl

The axolotl is a smiley little salamander that lives underwater. It has a wide mouth that looks like a friendly grin and a crown of feathery pink branches on its head. Those branches are its gills, and they help it breathe without ever coming up for air.

Most salamanders grow up, lose their gills, and crawl out onto land. The axolotl is different. It stays a water baby for its whole life, keeping its gills and its paddle-like tail. Scientists call this staying young “neoteny.”

The axolotl has an amazing superpower: it can grow back parts of its body. If it loses a leg or the tip of its tail, a brand-new one slowly grows in its place. Doctors and scientists study the axolotl to learn how healing works.

In the wild, axolotls live in just one special place on Earth: the cool canals and wetlands of Xochimilco, near Mexico City. They hunt at night, gulping up worms, tiny shrimp, and little fish with a quick suck.

Wild axolotls are critically endangered, which means very few are left in their canals. Dirty water and hungry newcomer fish have made life hard for them. But there is hope: conservation teams are restoring wetland habitat, teaching people about Xochimilco, and testing carefully chosen places where wild axolotls may be able to breed and recover.