Endangered Frogs Die In California Zoo's Breeding Tanks
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- Biologists are puzzled by the mysterious deaths of 104 endangered mountain yellow-legged frogs in breeding tanks at a California zoo.
Only two frogs are left at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, one of three zoos participating in a wildlife breeding program to reintroduce frogs rescued after a wildfire scorched 250 square miles in the Angeles National Forest two years ago.
Zoo director Scott Barton told the Los Angeles Times that the zoo may send away the two remaining ones to see if another facility will have better luck.
"We were thrown a curve ball with a species that was new to us," Barton said. "It's been a humbling experience."
Fewer than 200 mountain yellow-legged frogs are believed to exist in the wild, and the fire destroyed critical habitat.
Yellow-legged frogs thrived for thousands of years in streams in the San Bernardino, San Gabriel and San Jacinto mountains. Since the 1960s, the species has been decimated by fires, mudslides, fungal infections and loss of habitat.
The species is now one of the most endangered amphibians on the planet.
Zoos in Fresno, Los Angeles and San Diego are involved in the public-private effort to re-establish the yellow-legged frog population in Southern California.
"These frogs are very specific in their requirements. What works for one group may not work for another, which is why we have three zoos involved," said U.S. Geological Survey ecologist Adam Backlin, a lead scientist in the recovery effort. "The problem is that zoos do not have the space, staff or the funds to keep many of these frogs, which need . almost constant attention."
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
