Down at Clayton Bay in South Australia, staff and volunteers are preparing to collect the next generation of breeding frogs.
An innovative way to save an amphibian
The Southern Bell Frog captive breeding project minimises the impact on wild populations by collecting tadpoles and raising them on-site until breeding age. This is the safest way to collect this endangered species but introduces a two-year delay from tadpole to breeding adult.
To overcome this, the team is also preparing to travel interstate in April 2022 to collect adult frogs from larger populations in New South Wales. By spreading the collection sites across the species range, we are maximising the genetic diversity of our captive-bred release animals and giving them the best chance at surviving in the wild.