8/22/19 by AP
SAN FRANCISCO — Associated
Press 8/22/19
A healthy population of
red-legged frogs is hopping in Yosemite National Park, helped by a
reintroduction program with the San Francisco Zoo.
The zoo on Monday released
the last of more than 1,000 red-legged frogs into the park as part of a
four-year effort to reintroduce the once-threatened species, the San Francisco
Examiner reported.
At 2 to 5 inches long,
red-legged frogs are the largest native frogs in the West and once were found
throughout California. The frog’s population began declining 50 years ago after
the introduction of predatory, non-native bullfrogs, exacerbated by increasing
water drainage and raccoons.
In partnership with the
Yosemite Conservancy, the zoo has been breeding and raising tadpoles and adult red-legged
frogs since 2015 and releasing them into the park over the past two years.
Yosemite biologists have
conducted skin swabs and surveys to monitor the health of the population. Zoo
staff placed transmitters on 45 of the frogs released in order to track them
and better understand their behaviors.
Zoo data shows the frogs in
the wild have survived and reproduced.
“The challenge is to see if
they will still do well in the next five years,” said Jessie Bushell, the zoo’s
director of conservation.
Ecologists this spring found
clusters of eggs in meadows and ponds, proof of the first breeding in the park
by the frogs.
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