Saving the Smiling Axolotl
MEXICO CITY — Scientists and local farmers are teaming up to save a strange little water animal. It is called the axolotl (AK-suh-lah-tul). This animal has a wide mouth that looks just like a happy smile. Sadly, wild axolotls are in big trouble.
An axolotl is a kind of salamander. Most salamanders grow up and move onto land. Axolotls are different. They stay in the water for their whole lives. Three feathery gills stick out from each side of their heads like tiny branches. They wave these gills to breathe underwater. Most wild axolotls are dark brown or spotted so they can hide in the mud, though pet ones are often pink.
These animals also have a superpower. If an axolotl hurts a leg or a tail, it can grow a brand-new one! No scar is left behind.
Even with this amazing skill, wild axolotls are endangered. That means very few of them are left in nature. In the wild, they live in only one place on Earth. That place is Lake Xochimilco (so-chee-MEEL-ko) in Mexico City. Over time, the big city grew around the lake. Today, only muddy canals are left. Dirty water runs into the canals, and big fish brought from other places eat the baby axolotls.
- salamander:
- A small animal with smooth skin and a long tail that lives in water and on land.
- gills:
- Body parts that water animals use to breathe underwater.
- scar:
- A mark left on the skin after a cut or hurt heals.
- canals:
- Long, narrow paths of water going through the land.
- survive:
- To stay alive, especially when facing danger or hard times.
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- 1Who is teaming up to save the wild axolotl?
- 2How is an axolotl different from most other salamanders?
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About this news article passage for 2nd Grade
“Saving the Smiling Axolotl” is a news article reading passage about Axolotl Conservation, written for 2nd Grade. It takes about 2 minutes to read (257 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.