Axolotl Farm in Cuemanco

A boat ride lets you see axolotls, symbolic creatures in Mexica culture. In pre-Hispanic times, they evoked the god Xólotl, Quetzalcoátl’s brother, who refused to be burned at the stake to keep the sun moving. Instead, he fled and disguised himself first as a double-stalked corn plant and then as an agave plant. Finally, he turned himself into this amphibian and hid in the lake, where he was found and sacrificed.

Apart from their presence in pre-Hispanic mythology, axolotls are unique amphibians because they retain larval characteristics (no eyelids and a skeletal system made of cartilage) into adulthood and throughout their life cycle. Moreover, they are the only animal able to regenerate their limbs, organs, injured tissues, and even spinal cords. It was recently discovered that axolotl DNA has 32 billion base pairs, making their genome ten times larger than that of humans.

Because of their natural habitat’s severe deterioration, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists axolotls as a critically endangered endemic species. Given their current situation, a number of nongovernmental environmental organizations working to rescue and preserve them in Xochimilco’s canals and in other parts of Mexico City.