(bright music) - This maze of canals is one of the last remnants of a lake system that once surrounded Tenochtitlan, the capital of the ancient Aztec Empire.

These canals are famous for these trajineras, these flat bottom wooden boats.

Today, they're best known for food, music, celebration, and just general partying.

(upbeat music) (crowd cheering) (upbeat music) But beneath all of this hustle and bustle is the last native refuge for one of the most charismatic and recognizable species on planet earth, the axolotl.

Now you might say that word more like axolotl, but in the nahuatl language, which is spoken by more than a million people across Mexico, it's really pronounced more axolotl.

At least that's as close as I can get with my American mouth.

(bright music) Axolotl means water monster.

It's named after an Aztec God, it's inspired a Pokemon, and even swims its way through "Minecraft."

It is without a doubt the most famous salamander in the world, but here in its ancestral home, it's on the brink of extinction.

We're here to learn how a team of scientists, farmers, fishermen, and even plants are working to protect this species and its ancient traditions and save the last wild axolotls of Mexico City.

(gentle music) Xochimilco is a bustling borough in Mexico City, with a market boasting incredible food and some pretty tempting wares.

But we've got a date with La Patrona, The Boss.

It's actually my birthday today, and I get to celebrate it here in the home of one of my absolute most favorite animals.

You see them everywhere here.

They're on murals, stuffed animals.

They're even on the money, which is interesting because they're actually really rare to see in the wild.

I wonder how many of these people around us even know that this is the native home of this iconic animal.

But actually spotting an axolotl in the wild isn't just difficult, it's practically impossible, because these canals are not what they used to be.

(dramatic music) This shoreline is a mix of natural landmasses and human-created floating islands called chinampas.

Chinampas are floating gardens that once formed a backbone of agriculture in the valley of Mexico.

Residents of Xochimilco created chinampas by building rafts from branches layered with mud.

The practice may originate with all cultures like the Toltecs, but by the height of the Aztec empire, chinampas had become essential for feeding the growing population.

Fast forward several centuries, and the pressures from a growing city, pollution, and invasive fish have changed this ecosystem and pushed axolotls to the brink of extinction.

And that is why we're meeting with a group of researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico to understand more about the challenges that this species faces, and how they're trying to save these species.

(bird calling) Thank you for that.

That was perfect wild sound.

That's what I'm talking about.

This party's showing no signs of slowing, but it's time for us to head out and rest up.

We've got a very early morning appointment with some scientists, and hopefully some axolotls.

(water rushing) It's five in the morning.

We are back in Xochimilco.

It's a decidedly different vibe than the last time we were here.

We are meeting up with Vania Mendoza.

They're loading up to do a totally new survey of axolotls out here in the canals to try to get an idea of just how many are left in the wild.

And we are gonna give them a hand.

(water splashing) (scientist speaking Spanish) (Vania speaking Spanish) (bright music) - [Joe] If there are a lot of fish in the net, it's less likely we'll find axolotls here.

But fewer fish means there's a better chance axolotls might be nearby.

(Vania speaking Spanish) - So the species we just pulled out was a native species here in Xochimilco, which are also threatened by the carp and tilapia.

Axolotls depend on them for food.

They're all competing in this same niche.

It's a big mess.

These are just as rare.

(rooster crowing) (insects chirping) (Vania speaking Spanish) - [Joe] Environmental DNA is a way to detect organisms indirectly from cellular material like skin and waste that the axolotls put into the water.

(Vania speaking Spanish) (Vania continues speaking Spanish) (gentle music) - These results will take time.

Even though the team is doing the survey now, we won't know how many axolotls are in these waters until later this year when all the data is analyzed.

(Vania speaking Spanish) - [Joe] We didn't spot any axolotls in the wild, but with numbers so low, that's not surprising.

Even the scientists who study them rarely see them here.

But Vania and her colleagues at the National Autonomous University of Mexico or UNAM have invited us to visit their laboratory where the axolotls are a little easier to find.

This is Dr. Luis Zambrano.

He directs the Ecological Restoration Laboratory at UNAM.

We got invited along to see how he and his labmates are working to save this ecosystem and its iconic residents.

- So this is the colony.

We have four tanks in which we have basically divided between males and females.

- What kinds of experiments and observations are you doing in the lab?

- The reason we have these type of tanks is because we wanted to know the interaction with carp and tilapia.

So we put carp and tilapia on one side and axolotls of different sizes in the other one and try to check if the axolotls move to the area of the carp and tilapia or not.

In those experiments, we learn that they compete for food, but they don't eat each other.

- [Joe] Carp and tilapia arrived in Mexico City in the 1960s and '70s.

The government introduced these non-native species to help feed the city, but their populations exploded, pushing out native species like the axolotl.

Within a few decades, the axolotl population had plummeted, and today, scientists want to understand how these species interact to better inform conservation efforts.

(bright music) Many of these axolotls and their offspring will one day be reintroduced to the canals in order to make sure reintroduction efforts are helping the species.

The lab keeps detailed records on who's related to whom, so no one makes babies with their own family line.

- If we have to make a reintroduction, then we will know that they have enough variation in terms of genetics.

All of them have unique identification numbers.

- [Joe] Do you view yourself as the protector of these animals?

- [Luis] I don't see myself as a protector of the axolotls.

I see myself as a spokesman of the axolotls and the local farmers.

I have this information, and this information has to go to the public.

(gentle music) - [Joe] Vania and Luis are working alongside local farmers, or chinamperos, through the Chinampa Refugio project, an initiative to take ancient farming techniques and combine them with modern ecological restoration.

That means restoring chinampas, those Aztec floating gardens, and while doing so, creating a safe haven for axolotls and supporting sustainable agriculture.

(Vania speaking Spanish) (Pedro speaking Spanish) (bright music) - [Joe] Think of a chinampa like a sponge.

It soaks up nutrients from the water and the soil, keeping the land rich and fertile.

This traditional farming method isn't just about growing food, it's about keeping the whole ecosystem in balance.

A thriving chinampa means thriving axolotls.

(Pedro speaking Spanish) (bright music) - This is all part of a larger vision.

Over the next 10 to 15 years, the goal is to restore at least 60% of Xochimilco's lands for farming and local livelihoods.

This would not only help bring back the axolotl population, it'll also create a more sustainable food system.

for Mexico City.

The axolotl is more than just a salamander, it's a symbol of resilience, and a reminder of what's possible when tradition and science come together.

(gentle music)