# Are Axolotls Endangered?

> Axolotls are IUCN Critically Endangered. Wild remnant: Xochimilco canals near Mexico City. Captive millions are not wild recovery.

- **Species:** Axolotl (*Ambystoma mexicanum*)
- **Conservation status:** Critically Endangered
- **Diet:** Carnivore (worms, insects, small fish)
- **Habitat:** Freshwater lakes and canals of Mexico City
- **Lifespan:** 10–15 years
- **Canonical HTML:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/axolotl/are-axolotl-endangered/
- **Parent profile:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/axolotl/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Quick answer

The axolotl is a salamander from Mexico that keeps its larval features for life, including feathery external gills, and lives permanently in water instead of moving onto land. It is famous for its extraordinary ability to regrow limbs, parts of organs, and even portions of its brain. Critically endangered in the wild, it survives mainly in captivity and labs. Axolotls can live 10 to 15 years.

## Who should skip this page

Skip this if you need the full biology — use the [Axolotl profile](https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/axolotl/) instead.

## Neoteny: the salamander that stays young

Most salamanders transform from water-living larvae into land-living adults, but the axolotl keeps its juvenile form for life, a phenomenon called neoteny. It retains its feathery external gills and stays fully aquatic, breeding while still in what looks like a larval body.

## Help protect the Axolotl

The axolotl is critically endangered, surviving in just a few polluted, shrinking canals near Mexico City.

[Donate to habitat protection](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/appeals/habitats/)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/axolotl/are-axolotl-endangered/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.