In hopes of preventing the annihilation of a species with mystifying traits, ecologists at Mexico's National Autonomous University are giving the public the chance to virtually adopt an axolotl ...

A $50 donation will go to repair one of their homes for $50. Starting at $450, donors with deeper pockets can adopt the axolotl’s refuge on the islands in Lake Xochimilco called chinampas.

To help protect the salamander, the National Autonomous University of Mexico launched a campaign asking people to virtually adopt an axolotl or help pay for one of its meals.

AP2008 FILE - An Axolotl swims in a tank at the Chapultepec Zoo, in Mexico City, Sept. 27, 2008. Ecologists from Mexico's National Autonomous University relaunched a fundraising campaign Friday ...

'Adopt an axolotl' campaign launches in Mexico to save iconic species from pollution and trout The campaign asks people for as little as 600 pesos to virtually adopt one of the tiny “water ...

Save the axolotl: Urgent "Adoptaxolotl" campaign begins in Mexico Here's how to "adopt an axolotl" — or buy it dinner and help fix its adorable little house By Rae Hodge ...

While scientists could once find 6,000 axolotls on average per square kilometer in Mexico, there are now only 36, according to the National Autonomous university’s latest census.

FILE - An Axolotl swims in a tank at the Chapultepec Zoo, in Mexico City, Sept. 27, 2008. Ecologists from Mexico's National Autonomous University relaunched a fundraising campaign Friday, Nov. 24 ...

FILE - An Axolotl swims in a tank at the Chapultepec Zoo, in Mexico City, Sept. 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills, File) Author: DANIEL SHAILER Associated Press Published: 5:46 PM CST November ...