Mexican fishermen rally to protect rare amphibian
Reviving the Lake Patzcuaro Salamander
The Community’s New Conservation Role
After decades fishing on the high‑altitude waters of Lake Patzcuaro, Froylan Correa has embraced a new mission: safeguarding the endangered achoque, a salamander resembling a lion’s mane and renowned for its limb‑regeneration prowess.
Once plentiful, the lake’s inhabitants now stand on the brink of extinction due to overfishing, pollution and shrinking water levels—pressures that have earned the achoque a critically endangered status by the IUCN.
From Lake to Laboratory: A Collaborative Rescue Effort
- Local fishermen, led by Correa, collect freshly laid eggs from the lake’s restricted habitat.
- Biologist Rodolfo Perez transports them to Michoacana University’s laboratory, where they hatch under controlled conditions.
- Once juveniles reach an adequate size, they return to the community’s achoque protection reserve, where fishermen nurture them until release back into the lake.
Why the Achoque Matters
The salamander belongs to the Ambystoma group, a focus of scientific study because of its exceptional ability to regenerate mangled limbs and critical organs—such as parts of the brain and heart. If a tail is lost, it swiftly grows a new one, a trait that has fascinated researchers hoping to translate these findings to human medicine.
In pre‑Hispanic culture, the achoque served dual purposes: a source of sustenance and a remedy for respiratory ailments. Its muted skin tone blends seamlessly into the lake’s muddy surroundings, a characteristic encapsulated in a local legend that portrays the creature as an evil deity hiding in the lake’s sediment to escape divine judgment.
Challenges and Successes
Despite the community’s tireless dedication—fishermen still monitor the reserve even amid festivals or adverse weather—researchers face persistent obstacles, most notably securing adequate funding to compensate local guardians who must provide constant care.
Conversations with biologist Luis Escalera estimate that only 80–100 adults remain within a small sector of the lake today, a number that is dramatically lower than in the 1980s. Yet the partnership between scientists and locals has stabilized the population, turning the rescue into a labor of love.
