The Nun鈥檚 Salamander
Can a convent of nuns in Mexico save a species of great scientific interest and national cultural importance? Victoria Gill meets the unorthodox breeders of the amazing axolotl.
A convent of Mexican nuns is helping to save the one of the world's most endangered and most remarkable amphibians: the axolotl, a truly bizarre creature of serious scientific interest worldwide and an animal of deep-rooted cultural significance in Mexico.
The Sisters of Immaculate Health rarely venture out of their monastery in the central Mexican town of Patzcuaro. Yet they have become the most adept and successful breeders of their local species of this aquatic salamander. Scientists marvel at their axolotl-breeding talents and are now working with them to save the animal from extinction. 麻豆社 News science correspondent Victoria Gill is allowed into the convent to discover at least some of the nun's secrets.
Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker
Picture: Lake Patzcuaro axolotl Credit: Credit the picture Will Condliffe, Chester Zoo
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The nuns who are saving a species
Duration: 04:18
Broadcasts
- Mon 23 Jul 2018 19:32GMT麻豆社 World Service except News Internet
- Tue 24 Jul 2018 04:32GMT麻豆社 World Service except Australasia, East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Tue 24 Jul 2018 06:32GMT麻豆社 World Service East and Southern Africa & Australasia only
- Tue 24 Jul 2018 10:32GMT麻豆社 World Service West and Central Africa
- Tue 24 Jul 2018 14:32GMT麻豆社 World Service Australasia
- Sun 29 Jul 2018 01:32GMT麻豆社 World Service except News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Mon 30 Jul 2018 00:32GMT麻豆社 World Service West and Central Africa
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