Melbourne zoo hatches plan to save southern corroboree frog

Containers holding more than 1,600 of endangered species’ eggs placed in remote areas of Mt Kosciuszko national park

Calla Wahlquist

Sun 12 May 2019 02.19 BSTLast modified on Sun 12 May 2019 02.20 BST

A few days before the United Nations released a report warning that 1 million species, including 40% of all amphibians, could become extinct within decades, staff from Melbourne zoo were nursing chilled containers of frogs’ eggs to be taken to remote areas of sphagnum bog in the Mt Kosciuszko national park.

The containers held 1,673 fertilised eggs of the critically endangered southern corroboree frog, a species near the top of Australia’s extinction watchlist.

The eggs were packed into sphagnum moss for transport. Half were placed in one of 22 special disease-free areas that had been cleared of chytrid fungus, which is responsible for wiping out much of the wild population. The other half were placed in protected tubs in the wild, out of which the tadpoles will be able to climb once the eggs metamorphose.

That will not happen until spring. The tadpoles, which come out of their eggs as soon as they are released into the water, will spend the cold winter months nestled into the moss beneath a layer of snow and ice.

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Thousands of corroboree frog eggs released in fight to save endangered species

Hopes species will recover as eggs bred in captivity at Taronga Zoo in Sydney and Zoos Victoria enter the wild

Scientists say that without a captive breeding program the critically endangered corroboree frog would be two years from extinction. Photograph: John Lane/Zoos Victoria

Michael Slezak

Tuesday 26 April 201608.17 BST

After 10 years of captive breeding, the critically endangered corroboree frog   might be on its way back from the brink of extinction.

Fewer than 50 mature corroboree frogs live in the wild in alpine New South Wales and scientists have estimated that without a captive breeding program that began 10 years ago they would be a mere two years from extinction. In fact, most of the frogs currently in the wild are the result of previous captive releases.

But, this month, thousands of eggs bred in captivity at Taronga Zoo in Sydney andZoos Victoria are being released into the wild – the largest release to date.

Last week the first batch of about 1,850 was released, with the rest planned for release in coming weeks.

“The eggs we released this month will take six months to metamorphose into frogs and then a further four years for them to mature,” said Taronga native fauna curator Michael McFadden. “It’s hoped that these eggs will contribute to giving this species a chance to recover.”

The team released some of the eggs into raised pools that have been constructed to keep the deadly chytrid fungus out. Others were released into natural pools in areas that are known to have low levels of the fungus and others were released into enclosures.

The fungus causes a disease called chytridiomycosis on the skin that fatally impairs frogs’ ability to maintain electrolyte, water and oxygen levels.

McFadden told Guardian Australia the program appeared to be working, since most of the adult frogs they saw in the wild were in areas where they were previously extinct but have since been reintroduced.

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