SOUNDBITES OC:

This species is highly appreciated for its qualities, because it is able to regenerate almost any part of its body.

We now consider them to be in danger of extinction.

DIONISIO ESLAVA OC: Our people, indigenous and peasants from the rural areas, are trying to avert this big problem.

From the beginning of time, when the gods gathered together around the fire, they had to sacrifice themselves in order to yield—for instance, to the sun or the moon.

In one of those meetings, the gods began to throw themselves into the fire to give life to a new element. But the god Xolotl, Quetzalcoatl's twin brother, refused to sacrifice himself, which angered his brother, who ordered him to be pursued and sacrificed.

Xolotl changed shape several times, and finally, when he found Lake Xochimilco, he turned into an "axolotl" and jumped into the water.

Quetzalcoatl, his brother, spared his life but sentenced him to live in darkness forever as an axolotl, a water monster.

LOCATION: Xochimilco, Mexico City

SOUNDBITE: Fernando Arana, Biologist, Center of Biological and Aquatic Research of Cuemanco (CIBAC):

The Ambystoma mexicanum is an endemic species from the Mexican basin, the area of great lakes during the pre-Hispanic period.


SOUNDBITE: Horacio Mena, Veterinarian, National Autonomous University of Mexico:

The neotenic [juvenile] state is characteristic, the larval phase in which it remains all its life, unlike the ordinary salamander.

Its natural habitat has been reduced to only a few canals in Xochimilco.

That's why we counted axolotls in a census in 1998, with the participation of the Biology Institute of the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Xochimilco.

The final amount in the first census was 6,000 axolotls in a square kilometer.

Every four or five years we take a new census, and we've noticed that the population has decreased considerably.

In 2014 there were only 35 axolotls in a square kilometer.

SOUNDBITE: Fernando Arana, Biologist, Center of Biological and Aquatic Research of Cuemanco (CIBAC): The main problem has been the improper release of organisms, in this case fishes like tilapia and mojarra.

Also the chemical contamination at the beginning of the past century—when the course of natural springs of freshwater was altered to bring potable water to Mexico City and the original canals were refilled with wastewater from the city.

Combined with the fact that urban sprawl is growing around the lake area.

We must take drastic measures to avoid the extinction of this species within decades.

3:34 -massive production capacity of thousands of young organisms—for the purpose of repopulation.

SOUNDBITE: Horacio Mena, Veterinarian, National Autonomous University of Mexico: Reproduction of the axolotl is easy. It will not become extinct from laboratories, zoos, or collections, because in each lay we obtain from 1,500 to 2,000 eggs.

We know we'll never succeed if we confine animals to a research center.

For almost a year and a half we've been doing monitoring, and now we have animals in there.

LOCATION: Cantera, C.U., Mexico City

They're in a restricted area with no public access in order to guarantee the safety of the species.

SOUNDBITE: Dionisio Eslava, Umbral Axochiatl:

Our concern as locals is to find out how to preserve it. That is our greatest goal.

This is our territory, where we live, grow, and coexist with other forms of life—in this case with the axolotl, which is part of our culture, our roots, and our identity.