Everything You Need to Know about a Minecraft Axolotl
The axolotl is one of the most famous species of salamanders that can be found in the entire world. To a considerable extent, this is because it becomes an adult without undergoing metamorphosis, thus providing it with a very unusual and thus very memorable appearance. Furthermore, that provides axolotls with some interesting characteristics. For instance, they are one of the salamanders that remain aquatic throughout their lives. Similarly, they retain their external gills, which are one of the elements that make them recognizable in an instant. Having said that, axolotls might be most notable because of their regeneration, which makes them a subject of much study.
The axolotl is far from being the sole salamander to possess the remarkable ability to regenerate. Still, it is very impressive in this regard. After all, axolotls can do a number of things that remain in the realm of speculative fiction for humans. One example would be how they can accept transplants from others of their kind with minimal issue before restoring those to full functionality. Something that is extremely impressive when transplant rejection remains a serious issue in humans. Another example would be how axolotls can regenerate limbs, parts of their vital organs, and even parts of their brain. In fact, it isn’t unknown for these amphibians to gain an extra limb because of their regeneration restoring a damaged limb while growing another copy of that damaged limb. Combined, it is no wonder that axolotls are such a popular subject of study. We would love to have that kind of regeneration working for us, minus the accidental growth of extra limbs anyways.
Can Be Found in Lush Caves
For starters, if interested individuals want to check out the axolotls, they should be making their way towards lush caves, which are situated quite some distance down. Generally speaking, these are situated beneath forested biomes. However, it is possible to find lush caves situated beneath other biomes as well. The surest sign of their presence would be azaleas growing on the surface, so interested individuals should keep a watchful eye out for those.
Come In Five Colors
In total, axolotls come in five colors, which would be leucistic, wild, gold, cyan, and blue. Chances are good that interested individuals will be most familiar with the first kind of axolotl. This is because leucism is when an animal has lost some of its pigmentation, thus causing either pale coloring or patches of pale coloring. As such, leucistic axolotls refer to the pink or pinkish-white axolotls that are seen in most images of the amphibians. Some people might confuse leucism for albinism and vice versa. However, they should know that leucistic animals still have some of their pigmentation, meaning that they tend to have normal-looking eyes. Meanwhile, wild axolotls are brown axolotls. They are presumably called thus because most wild axolotls are indeed a brownish color. Something that does a lot to distinguish them from their counterparts in captivity. As for the remaining three colors, interested individuals might not be able to guess that gold axolotls have real counterparts while cyan axolotls and blue axotols are fictional in nature. Curiously, cyan axolotls are treated as just another kind of axolotl, which leaves blue axolotls as the special axolotls that have a 1 in 1,200 chance of showing up when the player engages in axolotl breeding.
They Are Passive Towards Players
Axolotls are passive towards players. This makes sense because these amphibians don’t have much interest in humans by default. Axolotls are solitary animals, meaning that they don’t have much of a social system that we can exploit in the same way that we have exploited in most domesticated animals. Still, there have been reports of these amphibians becoming less shy around humans over time, not least because they can come to associate humans with feeding time. On top of this, considering the reason that axolotls were added to Minecraft, making the axolotls hostile towards players would have been very counter-productive.
They Aren’t So Passive Towards Other Aquatic Mobs
In contrast, axolotls are not so passive towards other aquatic mobs. They will attack every other aquatic mob with the exceptions of dolphins, turtles, and other axolotls. Once again, this is rooted in the real world. Axolotls might look cute. However, they are carnivores of a very opportunistic sort. Out in the wild, these amphibians will feed on species that include but are not limited to worms, insects, small fish, small amphibians, and small crustaceans. In fact, if the people behind Minecraft wanted to stick to the axolotl’s real life tendencies, they could have gone either way when it came to their attitude towards other axolotls. Generally speaking, an axolotl won’t attack another axolotl of the same approximate size. However, there is a reason why interested individuals are discouraged from putting two different-sized axolotls in the same space, which is that they are quite capable of eating another member of the same species.
Axolotls Can Play Dead
Amusingly, while axolotls are very aggressive, they aren’t 100 percent so. When they take damage while they are underwater, there is a 1 in 3 chance of them choosing to play dead. After which, the relevant axolotl will fall to the ground for 200 game ticks. This will cause them to be ignored by hostile aquatic mobs. Furthermore, this will provide them with Regeneration I, thus enabling them to make a comeback. Of course, both of these characteristics are based on real world axolotls. Playing dead is something that axolotls and a lot of other animals have been known to do. Generally speaking, it is believed to be an anti-predator strategy, which can work quite well when the predator has no interest in carrion. However, playing dead does see use for other purposes as well, with an excellent example being playing dead for the purpose of luring in prey. It is important to note that playing dead is not the same as freezing up. In fact, it is possible for the same species to exhibit both behaviors, which makes sense because they are different strategies meant to do different things. Freezing up is sometimes called a primary strategy because an animal will use it when it has detected a predator but before the predator has detected it, thus making it more difficult for the latter to pick up on its presence because of the lack of motion. Meanwhile, playing dead is more of a secondary strategy because it doesn’t see use until the animal is already under attack by the predator, being what is essentially a gamble that the predator isn’t interested in carrion. On top of this, it is important to mention that an animal that is playing dead is very much not the same as an animal that has frozen up. It is common for them to continue scanning their surroundings to see what is going on even while they are pretending to be as motionless as they are supposed to be. Furthermore, there are plenty of examples of animals playing dead making a quick getaway when the opportunity comes up. As for the regeneration, well, axolotls are quite good at regenerating. They aren’t quite as good as their Minecraft counterparts because nothing is that good at regenerating in real life. Still, this is just one of the many ways that games are unreal while drawing upon real sources of inspiration because an absolute adherence to realism would not be very fun to say the least.
They Can Survive a Short Time Out of Water
Amphibian literally comes from a Greek word stating that they should be capable of living on both land and water. As a result, interested individuals might assume that axolotls are capable of doing the same, particularly since it is very common for salamanders to spend some time on land and some time in water. However, axolotls are adapted for living in the water, so much so that they aren’t capable of surviving on land for a prolonged period of time. They won’t die within a matter of moments, but they can survive a maximum of about an hour’s time out of water depending on whether the temperature and the humidity have lined up in their favor. Furthermore, even if an axolotl doesn’t die from being out of the water, being forced out of water won’t do wonders for their health. As such, this should be avoided much as how humans should avoid spending too much time in environments that are ultimately unsurvivable for us. In Minecraft, axolotls are much the same as their real world counterparts. They might venture out of the water for a bit, but it won’t be too long before they head back into it. If axolotls get stranded, they are going to start searching for sufficiently deep water. Otherwise, they will die after about 6,000 game ticks, which work out to 5 minutes of real time. It is interesting to note that axolotls can survive longer on land when they are under either rain or a thunderstorm. Something that serves to distinguish them from fish, squid, and dolphins.
You Can Put Them On a Lead
Amusingly, it is possible to put an axolotl on a lead. If the player chooses to do so, they can gain Regeneration I for 100 game ticks, which is set per axolotl. This is important because this means that they can put multiple axolotls on leads for a longer buff, which maxes out at 2,400 game ticks. Besides this, killing a mob that is in combat with a mob will remove mining fatigue, so interested individuals might want to keep that in mind. There is an achievement for this, though it won’t kick in unless the axolotl is still engaged in combat rather than playing dead.
You Can Breed Them
Interested individuals can breed axolotls. However, if they want to do so, they should prepare by getting plenty of buckets of tropical fish. As mentioned earlier, there is just a 1 in 1,200 chance of a baby axolotl coming with the rare blue color. Otherwise, it will have the color of one of its parents, which is chosen at random. Baby axolotls will follow their parents before eventually maturing after 20 minutes’ time. If interested individuals want, they can reduce the remaining time by 10 percent every time they use a bucket of tropical fish.
Why Did Minecraft Add Axolotls Anyways?
The reason why the people behind Minecraft added axolotls isn’t particularly mysterious. Essentially, they are critically endangered out in the wild. For those who are curious, axolotls are native to just a couple of lakes called Lake Chalco and Lake Xochimilco in the Valley of Mexico. Lake Chalco is literally no longer in existence because it was drained for flood prevention purposes. Meanwhile, Lake Xochimilco is in better condition only in comparison, seeing as how it is now better-described as canals rather than an actual lake. Unsurprisingly, this loss of habitat hasn’t done wonders for the numbers of axolotls that can be found out in the wild.
However, that is just the beginning because wild axolotls have come under other threats as well. For example, the Valley of Mexico is home to Mexico City, which is populous and becoming even more populous. The sheer number of people there have had a huge effect on their surroundings like their counterparts everywhere else in the world, with the result that axolotls have come under further pressure. Similarly, a number of non-native fish species have been introduced to the waters in relatively recent times, which have been doubly problematic. One, they eat axolotl young. Two, they compete for the same food sources as axolotl. Combined, axolotls are either extinct or very close to extinct out in the wild. This can be seen in how a four-month-long search in 2013 failed to turn up any examples, though a couple of wild axolotls were spotted a month later. Captive axolotls are very numerous, but they aren’t quite the same thing as their wild counterparts.