4-Foot Salamander Arrives in London as Face of New Conservation Effort
Dubbed Professor Wu, the new arrival could help the Zoological Society of London's efforts to save the critically endangered animal.
With his tiny eyes, sly grin, and slimy skin, Professor Wu may sound like an odd poster child.
But the Chinese giant salamander, which recently arrived at the Zoological Society of London's London Zoo, is the face of a new effort to save the world's largest amphibians by, in part, working with China's salamander farmers to discourage hunting and establishing a breeding facility in the country.
Habitat destruction and a Chinese appetite for the creatures has led to an 80 percent decline in their numbers in recent decades, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists them as critically endangered.
The 19-year-old Professor Wu—named after one of the conservation project's partners in China—is the only Chinese giant salamander
