Manding Nguyen

It's not the Blanco blind salamander.

It's a different one, the Kamal blind salamander.

It's tiny, barely two inches long, and it doesn't have eyes.

It doesn't need them here in the perpetual darkness.

The Kamal blind salamander, like many other creatures in the Edwards Aquifer, is only found here.

13 other species here have been categorized as threatened or endangered, and a lost mosquito fish that was last seen in 1983 in the aquifer was recently listed as extinct.

Finding our missing salamander, the blanco-blind salamander, is about a lot more than just saving one species.

Andy says it could teach us a lot about this underground world.

These salamanders probably have very sensitive skin, which makes them susceptible to pollution.

So if Andy can find one alive, it's a good sign for the health of the aquifer.

But if he can't, it could be a sign of bigger problems, both for the creatures here and the humans who live above it.

The Edwards Aquifer provides drinking water for 2 million people in the region, and urban development above the aquifer is threatening its delicate ecosystem.

So the blanco-blind salamander could be like a canary in the coal mine, if we can find it.

Swimming back to the entrance, I can feel the cold deep in my bones, and I can't catch my breath.

So we stop to sit on a rock ledge on the way out.

Then, someone suggests that we turn off our lights.

Pure darkness.

All I can hear is our breath and the light splashing of water.

I stop feeling cold.

I don't notice my own short breath.