Endangered Tadpoles' Mission: Help Restore Toad Species

Thousands of tadpoles are on a journey from Cleveland to Puerto Rico as part of an effort to save their critically endangered species.

The traveling tadpoles are Puerto Rican crested toads, and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is part of the Species Survival Plan that works to breed the toads and release them back to the wild. The plan is managed by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums.

"The Puerto Rican crested toad Species Survival Plan has been very successful," said Lynn Koscielny, the associate curator of animals at the zoo. "Field researchers in Puerto Rico have observed toads with transponders that were released into the wild returning to the protected ponds to reproduce."

Read more:  http://www.livescience.com/25542-endangered-tadpoles-bred.html

Nearly frozen alligator rescued

CLEVELAND — Was someone trying to avoid registering their exotic animal by dumping it down a sewer drain?  That’s what the Ohio Department of Agriculture will be investigating. 

A two-foot alligator was rescued from the shallow waters of Big Creek in Cleveland on Thursday, near Steelyard Commons.

A surveyor noticed it by a sewer outfall and alerted Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District crews who were doing maintenance at the agency’s Jennings Road Pump Station.

The alligator was not moving, so to revive the nearly frozen animal, crews put her in a tub with warm water.

The alligator was being cared for at a Sewer District facility in Cuyahoga Heights until the Ohio Department of Agriculture provides instructions.

According to Jeannie Chapman, the public information specialist for NEORSD, there is speculation the reptile may have been released to avoid the cost of new exotic animal regulations. 

Ohio’s exotic ban registration deadline was just this past Monday, Nov. 5.  Owners of lions, tigers, bears, certain snakes and alligators are required to register with the state, pay fines, undergo background checks, get insurance and post signs on their property – warning of dangerous animals.

Continued:  http://wtvr.com/2012/11/08/nearly-frozen-alligator-rescued/