Of the 17 species in their genus found in Mexico, 12 are listed as endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. At Lake Pátzcuaro, fishermen have been catching and eating achoques since before the Spanish arrived in Mexico. In 1985, a friar suggested that the nuns start their own colony because the lake was deteriorating, according to Sister Ofelia. It wasn’t until 2000 that the nuns had their own thriving community of salamanders in the convent. “People have faith in it because the nuns make it,” said Dolores Huacuz , an expert on the region’s amphibians and a retired university professor.

Source: New York Times July 30, 2018 20:37 UTC