Pollution and other man-made ills weigh heavily on Mexico's axolotl. Its population in the wild has fallen by something like 99% in the past three decades, one expert said. Yet the axolotl has never been more popular.
Amy Blum; Cover: Nic Bothma/EPA/Shutterstock
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The creatures look like little dragons with a goofy smile. The videogame “Fortnite” trotted out axolotl characters in 2020, and “Minecraft” followed suit last June.
An axolotl character in "Fortnite."
Epic Games
Roblox, a platform with millions of user-made games, has dozens of axolotl-centric ones, including “Axolotl Paradise.” Axolotls appear in “Adopt Me!,” one of the most-played games on Roblox.
All of the exposure has spawned axolotl memes, YouTube videos, coloring books and nonfungible tokens.
Axolotls also appear in "Minecraft."
Microsoft/Mojang Studios
The Bank of Mexico even put an axolotl on the side of the country’s new 50-peso bill.
Banco de Mexico/Mexican Central Bank
Pet-shop owners say demand for axolotls has surged.
“The feeding took a while to get used to,” said Amy Blum, of Monroe, Wis., whose son owns one. “I don’t exactly love chopping up worms.”
Elijah Blum, age 8, and the family’s axolotl tank.
Amy Blum
Jake Pak, a breeder and seller of axolotls, worries that young buyers will be disappointed that their new pets don’t perform the same tricks as the digital variety, like walking on two feet. Plus, they can live 15 years. “A lot of kids who are buying these axolotls will be taking them off to college,” he said.
Axolotlmania wouldn’t have erupted if they weren’t so adorable, according to anthropologist Cynthia Miller. The good feelings stretch back to the Aztecs, who named the amphibian after Xolotl, the god of monsters.
Actress Andrea Sawatzki dressed as an axolotl in Germany's version of "The Masked Singer."
Rolf Vennenbernd/DPA/Zuma
Breeders and buyers say the world’s new interest in axolotls could save them from extinction. But a booming population of pet axolotls isn’t an ideal solution, said Pamela Valencia, founder of Mexico City’s new axolotl museum.
Toya Sarno Jordan/Reuters
“Axolotls are wild animals. Having one as a pet is like if you kept a jaguar in your backyard.”
—Pamela Valencia, founder of Mexico City’s new axolotl museum
Georgina Molina
Axolotls must be kept cool: One owner saved hundreds of dollars on an aquarium chiller by instead keeping frozen water bottles in a tank to cool.
Care and feeding isn't easy: Axolotls can grow up to about a foot in length and require fish tanks with dechlorinated tap water.
They aren't immune to cannibalism: While they have the remarkable ability to regrow a lost limb, they are capable of eating one another.
Produced by Brian Patrick Byrne
Photos: Vans, Toya Sarno Jordan/Reuters, Marco Ugarte/AP