Arrowhead Animal Rescue

10/24/2026

7 out of 10 cats abandoned by their owners don't survive long. Here's the data.

10/24/2026

10/20/2026

The axolotl, a smiling salamander from Mexico that spends its whole life in the water, has one of the most remarkable abilities in the animal kingdom.

If it loses a leg, it simply grows a new one. Not a stump, but a complete, working leg, with bones, muscles, nerves, skin and perfectly formed toes. And it does this without leaving a scar.

That's only the beginning. Axolotls can also regrow parts of their heart, sections of their spinal cord, parts of their eyes and even portions of their brain, with new nerve cells connecting to the old ones.

When an axolotl is injured, cells at the wound turn back into a more flexible, stem-cell-like state and form a mass called a blastema, which then rebuilds the missing body part. Human wounds instead close quickly with scar tissue.

Scientists around the world study axolotls in the hope that one day, they could help us heal spinal cord injuries, heart damage and more.

But in the wild, axolotls are critically endangered. They live naturally in just one place: the canals of Xochimilco, in Mexico City, where pollution and invasive fish have pushed them close to the edge. Fewer than 1,000 adults may remain there.