Real news. Real stories. Real voices.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Supported by

Devil’s Hole Comeback

"Death Valley Pupfish". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikipedia

In a Nye County hot springs 90 miles west of Las Vegas, the tiny population of one of the world’s most endangered species has staged a comeback.

The Devil’s Hole pupfish, found only in a cavern that gave the fish its name, has rebounded from 35 fish in 2013 to 115 this spring, according to a census conducted by the federal Fish and Wildlife Service.

The one-inch fish is the subject of an aggressive preservation effort that includes using shag carpet to harvest eggs, which are then identified by microscope, incubated, hatched, and raised at a nearby lab.

“We’re trying to create as much diversity as possible,” said Corey Lee of the Fish and Wildlife Service, “For a fish that got down to 35 individuals in the wild, it hit a pretty big genetic bottleneck.”

 

Corey Lee, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Stay Connected
With deep experience in journalism, politics, and the nonprofit sector, news producer Doug Puppel has built strong connections statewide that benefit the Nevada Public Radio audience.