Photographer Page

Luis Antonio Rojas

A female axolotl swims inside a water tank at the National Autonomous University's Laboratory of Ecological Restoration in April 2021.

An abandoned chinampa is overwhelmed by weeds in Xochimilco in December 2020. The chinampa tradition has declined over the decades, in part due to lack of support for farmers.

Construction of a six-lane bridge destroyed part of the Xochimilco wetland, as seen in June 2021. Such habitat loss remains the main threat to axolotls.

Juvenile axolotls rest in a fish tank at an axolotarium in Xochimilco in March 2021.

A 10-day-old axolotl larva swims in a plastic bucket at the ecology lab. Axolotls are unusual in that they maintain their larval appearance into adulthood.

A three-month-old axolotl swims inside a tank at the National Autonomous University of Mexico's Laboratory of Ecological Restoration in April 2021. Axolotls are easy to grow in captivity and have become popular pets worldwide.

Carlos Sumano, of the Laboratory of Ecological Restoration at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, photographs water from a Xochimilco canal to analyze its quality in December 2020.

A farmer completes a seed bed made from mud in Xochimilco in February 2021. The chinampa is an ancient technique in which farmers create artificial islands of fertile land among water bodies.

A farmer rows besides a chinampa—an artificial island used for farming—on a canal in Xochimilco, Mexico City, in December 2019.

The image of an axolotl is projected on a structure simulating a pyramid for a play in Xochimilco, Mexico City, on November 8, 2019.