The struggling population of Mazama newts are finding a new home at the High Desert Museum in Bend and the Oregon Zoo in Portland due to their own climate becoming increasingly challenging.

The newts, which evolved at Crater Lake, have declined rapidly due to the explosion in numbers of invasive crayfish that have taken over the shoreline of the lake and depleted vital food sources for the newt.

“There's increasing concern about this species of newt that they're maybe facing extinction because of invasive crawfish," said Jon Nelson, curator of wildlife at the High Desert Museum. "That kind of put a little bit of an impetus on this idea of maybe pursuing some conservation actions.”

What is the Mazama newt?

The Mazama newt is a subspecies of the more common rough-skinned newt. While th

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