A tiny endangered newt found only in Crater Lake has a new crew of champions.

The Oregon Zoo announced Thursday that it has teamed up with the National Park Service and the High Desert Museum to try to save the endangered Crater Lake newt with a new captive breeding program in Portland.

Also known as the Mazama newt, the small amphibian has become increasingly imperiled over the last 15 years as warming temperatures favor its predator, the signal crayfish, which was introduced to the park in the late 1800s as a way to attract visitors and gain federal protection as a national park – a plan that ultimately worked.

Crayfish now occupy more than 95% of the lake’s shoreline, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, which in April said it planned to sue the U.S. Fish and Wild

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