This Unique Fish Can Regrow Body Parts!
Have you seen the axolotl on the front cover of this summer’s Keys for Kids devotional issue? Check out more about this amazing creature! And sign up for a free subscription to Keys for Kids here.
Have you heard of an axolotl? You’ve probably seen these smiling salamanders recently, as their silly-looking faces have gotten them lots of attention over the past year. Their name, pronounced “ack-suh-lah-tuhl” in English, comes from the ancient language of the Aztec Empire and means “water dog.”
Axolotls have captivated humans for centuries, so much so that Aztecs honored these animals in their mythology. Much of Mexico’s culture has a deep respect for axolotls, and today they are a symbol for health and healing.
Despite the axolotl’s cultural importance and unique features, they are critically endangered. There are estimated to be less than one thousand of them left in the wild. Axolotls are only found in two lakes in Mexico City, and pollution and invasive species threaten them.
Although axolotls are amphibians, they spend their entire lives in the water. They grow lungs but use feathery gills on the sides of their faces to breathe. You’ll only find darker-colored axolotls in the wild because the lighter pink-and-white ones are bred in captivity. Axolotls can even change their skin tone to blend in with their environment.
They hunt at night and like to eat worms, mollusks, insect larvae, and even small fish. But instead of chewing their food, they inhale their prey like a vacuum cleaner!
The most fascinating fact about axolotls is that they can fully regrow any part of their body. Whether it’s something as simple as a limb or jaw, or as complex as their heart or part of their brain, axolotls can regenerate it without any scarring. The body part that was lost will grow back and be like new.
Though we as humans can’t regrow body parts like axolotls, we can become new in an even better way. When we trust Jesus to save us, He regenerates us spiritually and gives us new hearts. And He promises to make the whole world new again too! It’s easy to see the brokenness around us, but we can trust that God is constantly working to restore the world and make it better and that Jesus will make everything new again when He returns—including our bodies. In the meantime, He is with us, and that gives us an axo-lot-of hope!
