In southern Mexico City, a group of activists and locals is working to protect the axolotl, an amphibian species once venerated by the ancient Mexica people, with the aim of reintroducing it into its natural habitat, the Xochimilco canals.
Xochimilco, which preserves the final traces of the pre-Hispanic era transportation system and chinampas, pre-Hispanic agricultural rafts, has become inhospitable for axolotls due to heightened pollution levels, invasive species, massive tourism, and, crucially, illegal land use changes, says Michel Balam, the leader of the Santuario Ajolote (Axolotl Sanctuary) project.
The last axolotl census in Mexico, conducted in 2014 by the renowned Universidad Nacional de Mexico (UNAM), showed 36 axolotls per square kilometer in the Xochimilco area, a drastic reduction from the 6,000 salamanders per square kilometer reported in 1998 by the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana (UAM).