Minecraft wiki entry for Axolotl, associated text: In the release notes Minecraft Launcher there is an encrypted message T⍑ᒷ ᔑ ̇/𝙹ꖎ𝙹ℸ ̣ ꖎᓭ ᔑ∷ᒷ リ𝙹ℸ ̣ ∴⍑ᔑℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ|| ᓭᒷᒷᒲ, which translates to "The Axolotls are not what they seem,” most likely a reference to the television show Twin Peaks. (“The Owls are not what they seem.”)
Axolotls are small salamanders that are endemic to Mexico, which are critically endangered. Following Mojang Studios' trend of adding endangered species such as polar bears, giant pandas (no longer an endangered as of 2022), sea turtles, and bees, axolotls were added to the game to raise awareness.[10][11]
The probability of a blue axolotl spawning is 1 in 1200 because that is approximately the number of axolotls left in the wild in real life.[12]
Axolotls can eat only buckets of tropical fish and not tropical fish items because axolotls in real life eat only living fish.[12]
The blue variant was a suggestion by user Darkiceflame on the Minecraft's Suggestion Box Reddit community. It is a reference to Mudkip from the Pokémon series.[13]
Even though they are not in the game, the green variant appears in the Caves & Cliffs: Part I announcement trailer and caves and cliffs recap.[14] When asked on a livestream, Agnes said she cannot say why the green variant was cut from the game.[15]
Both the "play dead" behavior and the regeneration ability of axolotls are based on the abilities of real life axolotls.[12]
Because real axolotls don't actually vocalize, the sounds of axolotls were recorded from the incidental "hiccups" and "burps" real axolotls occasionally make when surfacing, as well as heavily edited dog sounds.[16]