The Dominican of Order

A community of nuns in Mexico have become the unlikely collaborators in the race to save one of the world's rarest amphibians from extinction,

The zoo, along with the Michoacana University of Mexico, a Mexican government fisheries center and a group of Mexican nuns, have come together to develop a breeding program for the Lake Patzcuaro salamander to help ensure the continued survival of the critically endangered species.

A genetically important colony of salamanders survive at a monastery in the small Mexican town of Patzcuaro, which is home to 23 nuns. The Sisters of the Monastery of the Dominican of Order have been caring for a clutch of the salamanders for more than 150 years.

Traditionally, the nuns and people living in the local communities, harvested the salamanders from Lake Patzcuaro, the only place in the world in which they were once commonly found, and used them to create a special cough medicine.

A combination of introduced exotic fish, destruction of forests and over-exploitation as a local dish, has pushed them to the brink of extinction, forcing the nuns to breed the salamanders in their convent to keep alive both the species and their traditions.

Experts believe the population being kept by the nuns will play a key role in any future reintroduction back into the wild.