Hey! That’s not a fish! Our wildlife inspectors were surprised to find axolotls smuggled in a commercial import of live fish for the pet trade at the O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois. Axolotls are listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). In 2025, they were added to the Lacey Act as an injurious species due to their potential to spread disease to native amphibians when people release their unwanted pets. Luckily for these little guys, the Brookfield Zoo had the permits to keep these animals. One is now on permanent display at Brookfield Zoo. The other survivors found homes at other top-tier animal care facilities. 1st photo (representative image) by Rebecca Fabbri/USFWS 2nd and 3rd photos by Amanda Dickson/USFWS #axolotl