The Rarest Fish In The World May Soon Be History

Photo credit: www.fws.gov

The Devil’s Hole pupfish is a fish that made history and soon may actually be history!

The only place in the world where these fish are found is in a 500 foot deep aquifer in the middle of the Mojave Desert.

In the 60’s and early 70’s these guys home caused a whole lot of ruckus. Land developers had their eyes on property containing the aquifer that would have destroyed their home and with that their species. But a group of individuals began protesting the developers- defending the pupfish and its habitat- taking water rights litigation all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

After winning the SCOTUS case in 1976, the Devil’s Hole pupfish became the “poster-fish” for conservation.

Now, almost forty years later, there are less than 100 of these pupfish alive due to human impacts on the climate. The U.S. government is spending millions (literally) to ensure that the Devil’s Hole pupfish do not meet the end of their existence any time soon.

The Fish and Wildlife Service spent $4.5 million to build the Ash Meadows Desert Fish Conservation Facility where they would replicate the conditions of the Devils Hole in every way possible.

Check out the efforts being made to save the Devil’s Hole pupfish at the Ash Meadows facility.

Source: www.i09.com