The release involved 53 male frogs that were originally collected as tadpoles from fire-damaged puddles in East Gippsland following the 2019-20 Black Summer disaster. Genetic testing subsequently revealed that these five-year-old males were siblings, prompting conservationists to release them rather than keep them in the zoo's captive breeding program. Teams timed the release with recent heavy thunderstorms that produced 80 to 100 millimeters of rainfall to ensure optimal burrowing conditions.
Key points
Victoria currently possesses only five documented breeding locations for the critically e…: Victoria currently possesses only five documented breeding locations for the critically endangered southern giant burrowing frog.
The species spends the majority of its life underground in sandy forest soils and emerges…: The species spends the majority of its life underground in sandy forest soils and emerges primarily to reproduce following heavy rainfall.
Zoos Victoria plans to maintain its captive breeding initiative and may collect additiona…: Zoos Victoria plans to maintain its captive breeding initiative and may collect additional wild tadpoles to protect the species from extinction.
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After the 2019-20 black summer bushfires, scientists in eastern Victoria stumbled across something they had been after for years: puddles of tadpoles from the southern giant burrowing frog, one of the state’s most cryptic amphibians.
The fires had torn through extensive areas in East Gippsland, sparking concerns for the survival of the frog, which is considered critically endangered in Victoria.
About 160 tadpoles were collected and transported to Melbourne zoo, where they were raised through to metamorphosis into frogs and successfully bred in captivity for the first time last year.
In a homecoming more than half a decade in the making, 53 of the original tadpoles – now male frogs about five years old – have been returned to their native habitat in a remote area of the state’s east.
The elusive frogs grow to roughly the size of a cricket ball in adulthood, and are believed to have long lifespans. Matt Clancy, a herpetologist at Snowline Ecology and an expert in the species, said that like other large frog species such as green tree frogs, giant burrowing frogs “could…
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