“I was amazed by how much kids in the U.S. love axolotls!” Ramos González tells Popular Science. To help answer why, Ramos González went straight to the source: her 11-year-old niece, Elena. Now, a new study of 18 captive-bred axolotls found that they can survive in some wild wetlands in Mexico. View of salamanders inside a fish tank at the Centro Ecoturístico Chinampero Michmani in Xochimilco, Mexico City. “While they can survive in captivity, true conservation depends on protecting their natural habitats,” say Ramos González and Zambrano.