The mountain yellow-legged frog is a species that lives in the mountains of Southern California. It is listed as an endangered species for protection by the federal government. Surveys 20 years ago determined that the frog’s population was declining and on a trajectory toward extinction. The frogs are severely impacted by water pollution and are vulnerable to the effects of wildfires, floods, disease, and drought.
A collaboration headed by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego along with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, UCLA, and the Big Bear Alpine Zoo has been raising mountain yellow-legged frogs in captivity as part of a long-running recovery program with partners at multiple federal and California state agencies.
In August, more than 350 of the frogs were reintroduced into the wild in Southern California’s San Bernardino Mountains, one of the largest releases of the captive-raised frogs to date. This represented the first species reintroduction by the Scripps Institution and an important milestone in its growing conservation work.
The frogs were transported in coolers to the mountains where a team then hiked the frogs to three sites along a lake within a protected reserve. The frogs were microchipped with passive transponder tags that will allow researchers to identify individuals during future surveys. This will enhance long-term monitoring and inform ongoing conservation efforts.
The goal of these efforts is to help to delist or at least downlist the endangered status of the frogs by enhancing the genetic diversity of both captive and wild populations, optimizing reintroduction efforts, and increasing wild frog populations.
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Hundreds of Mountain Yellow-legged Frogs Leap Back Into the Wild
Photo, posted April 27, 2011, courtesy of Rick Kuyper / USFWS via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
