Stories: THE OLM: TheOlm-photoLukaDakskobler-021

The olm (Proteus anguinus) with its eggs in Postojna Cave, Slovenia, March 15, 2016. This blind cave salamander endemic to Dinaric Karst regions of Europe can live without food for up to 20 years and can live to be a hundred years old. An olm only lays eggs once in a decade. In late January 2016 one of them laid eggs, which has so far only been observed once before in the olm's natural environment of a cave. After 120 days in 11 degrees Celsius water, 21 eggs hatched, the first time ever that scientists witnessed an olm egg hatching in a cave.

The olm (Proteus anguinus) with its eggs in Postojna Cave, Slovenia, March 15, 2016. This blind cave salamander endemic to Dinaric Karst regions of Europe can live without food for up to 20 years and can live to be a hundred years old. An olm only lays eggs once in a decade. In late January 2016 one of them laid eggs, which has so far only been observed once before in the olm's natural environment of a cave. After 120 days in 11 degrees Celsius water, 21 eggs hatched, the first time ever that scientists witnessed an olm egg hatching in a cave.