Oregon Zoo releasing 100 endangered frogs back into the wild

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — The Oregon Zoo release 100 northern leopard frogs into the wild in August to bolster the endangered species’ dwindling populations.

The zoo already released more than 50 tadpoles into Washington’s Columbia National Wildlife Refuge earlier this year. The tadpoles were brought to the zoo as eggs by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in the spring. The zoo is waiting for the remaining tadpoles to complete their transformation before setting them free.

Northern leopard frogs were once commonly found throughout North America. However, the animals are rapidly disappearing from their native ranges in Washington, Oregon and Western Canada, according to the Oregon Zoo. Zoologist Jen Osburn Eliot, who oversees the Oregon Zoo’s Great Northwest area, said that caring for the frogs during their most vulnerable stages can increase their chance of reaching adult size in the wild.

“Each tadpole is important,” Osburn Eliot said. “There’s only one known population of northern leopard frogs left in Washington state, and we want to do everything we can to help bring them back.”

Experts are unsure why the northern leopard frog is disappearing from the Pacific Northwest. However, habitat loss, disease, pollution, climate change and competition from invasive species are some contributing causes.

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