PHOENIX — Over 450 desert pupfish have been successfully returned to their home in Ayer Lake, according to a Wednesday announcement from the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD).
The desert pupfish were originally extracted from Ayer Lake, which is around 100 miles east of Phoenix in the town of Superior, due to a repair project. The lake is part of Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Arizona’s oldest and largest botanical garden.
Why are desert pupfish being return to Arizona lake?
Authorities needed to drain the lake, which has served as a critical refuge site for Arizona’s native fish populations for decades, for dam repairs.
Kim Gray, the arboretum’s executive director, was happy to see the fish returned to their home.
“This species is an important part of the ecosystem and our lake provides the perfect habitat for them,” Gray said in the announcement. “The fish were removed, and we placed them in a pool and fish tank in our greenhouse for safekeeping.”
The fish have been thriving in their new environment, she added.
“They have been very happy and have even produced offspring,” Gray said.
However, not all of the desert pupfish currently swimming through Ayer Lake were previously removed. Some of the fish were collected from two other refuge sites: one from Cottonwood Tank at Robbins Butte Wildlife Area and another from the Phoenix Zoo Aviary pond.
“I’m really excited to get these endangered desert pupfish back into Ayer Lake,” Brett Montgomery, AZGFD topminnow and pupfish specialist, said in the announcement. “It’s such a nice habitat where the fish will really have the chance to thrive.”
The post Endangered desert pupfish return to Ayer Lake at Boyce Thompson Arboretum appeared first on KTAR.
