Oakland Zoo in California has now returned 1,000 yellow-legged frogs to the wild following a decade of efforts to save the species.
Last week, Oakland Zoo transported 43 yellow-legged frogs by helicopter to their release site at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks before returning them to the wild.
With this release, the zoo is celebrating the reintroduced of 1,000 yellow-legged frogs, a species on the brink of extinction due to Chytridiomycosis, a devastating infectious disease affecting amphibians across the world.
Per a statement, yellow-legged frogs have experienced a 90 percent decline in their population due to Chytridiomycosis, which is caused by the chytrid fungus.
Oakland Zoo is working to save the species because it plays a crucial role in the ecological food chain as prey for larger animals and as predators of insects that control populations.
“Releasing our 1,000th mountain yellow-legged frog is a major milestone,” said Samantha Sammons, wildlife recovery programme manager at Oakland Zoo.
Zoo’s work with native California wildlife
“This milestone has been reached because of the numerous dedicated staff members and volunteers who have been involved with this program over the years.
“We need to keep this movement going to continue helping native California wildlife and make sure that these frogs don’t disappear.”
Oakland Zoo’s latest release was in partnership with the Mountain Lakes Research Group, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service.
Collected as tadpoles in 2023, the yellow-legged frogs have been raised by Oakland Zoo to be released back into the wild.
During their time at the zoo, the frogs were given anti-fungal chytrid treatments to protect against the virus. They were also pit-tagged for monitoring, received their final inoculations, and were swabbed once more for chytrid before being released.
As part of its conservation work with yellow-legged frogs, Oakland Zoo is also biobanking frog genetics and developing methods to propagate the species for future release.
Earlier this year, Oakland Zoo launched a conservation plan focusing on issues like species and habitat protection, wildlife trade mitigation, and human-wildlife coexistence.
Images courtesy of Oakland Zoo, lead image credit: Steven Gotz
