Rare Mazama newts hatched for the first time in human care in July at the Oregon Zoo.

These tiny amphibians are no bigger than a sunflower seed, Oregon Zoo said, but represent a big milestone to save the subspecies from extinction.

Mazama newts are only found at Crater Lake and 19 were brought to the zoo last summer for an emergency conservation effort. Two of the newts laid eggs in the spring and on July 19, the first egg hatched. Since then, 20 frilly-gilled newtlets arrived and more eggs appear to be developing, Oregon Zoo said.

Keepers have checked on the eggs' progress daily under a microscope, using methods developed for axolotl eggs.

"It's exciting and nerve-wracking," Kaley McClung, a keeper in the zoo's newt conservation lab, said in a statement. "These hatchlings are exactly what we've been hoping for since the newts first arrived here. They may be tiny, but they represent a huge and hopeful step for everyone involved."

The newts have shown signs of a healthy appetite by darting toward brine shrimp, according to the keepers. There is a chance the hatchlings won't survive, Oregon Zoo said, but this is an optimistic step forward for conservation.

"Right now, our focus is simply to keep Mazama newts from going extinct," David Hering, an aquatic ecologist at Crater Lake National Park, said in a statement. "There's still a long road ahead before we can return them to Crater Lake, but this breeding success is a critical milestone and an encouraging sign that recovery is possible."

Mazama newts — a rare subspecies of rough-skinned newt found only at Crater Lake — arrived at the zoo last summer as part of an emergency conservation effort.
Mazama newts — a rare subspecies of rough-skinned newt found only at Crater Lake — arrived at the zoo last summer as part of an emergency conservation effort.

In partnership with the National Park Service, the zoo hopes to raise the newts until they are big enough to survive and then return them to Crater Lake to boost the wild population. Mazama newts were once a plentiful aquatic predator in the lake but have been threatened and reduced by invasive crayfish.

Conservation partners are preparing an isolated pond at Crater Lake by removing invasive predators to create a refuge for the newts. A long-term solution to the invasive crayfish problem is still under development.

The Mazama newt has been included in Oregon's revised State Wildlife Action Plan. Partners also petitioned to list the newt subspecies under the Endangered Species Act.

Makenzie Stamets is an outdoor intern at the Statesman Journal. She can be reached at [email protected] or on X at @MakenzieStamets.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Rare newts exclusive to Crater Lake hatch at Oregon Zoo