Aquarium of the Pacific releases 653 endangered mountain frogs in California

Inside a dedicated facility at the Aquarium of the Pacific, staff have been breeding mountain yellow-legged frogs to reverse their steep decline. In the latest operation, 653 individuals were released into streams across the San Gabriel, San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains, the largest single release to date. The program launched in 2021 after the Bobcat fire devastated most of the species' habitat and has raised a total of 1,032 frogs, many transferred from the Los Angeles Zoo as tadpoles and grown to froglet stage at the aquarium.

Collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife provides monitoring and genetic segregation to preserve distinct populations. Researchers are also testing inoculation and skin-microbe approaches to combat chytrid fungus, a major amphibian pathogen. Conservation staff such as Erin Lundy describe the releases as both scientifically crucial and emotionally moving.