A toad capable of living at elevation is thriving after over a decade of coaxing from officials dedicated to reviving the species.
One Colorado Parks and Wildlife researcher said it was "a monumental day" when wild boreal toad tadpoles were discovered in a pond at a conservation site in August, as Colorado Public Radio reported.
Another site where CPW first reintroduced tadpoles in 2006 is teeming with the toads. At this other location in the Rocky Mountains, the creatures live at 11,500 feet, surviving winter months covered in feet of snow. The toads were once common but have been nearly wiped out by habitat loss and chytrid fungus, which has contributed to the extinction of over 90 amphibian species around the world and "large declines observed in more than 500 others," according to CPR.
This conservation effort is like others in that it has involved many steps over a long time period. Similar endeavors are underway to reintroduce wolves and wolverines to the Centennial State.
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"For years, we have been watching multiple age classes thrive at this site, so we had high hopes this was going to become a self-sustaining breeding population and a successful translocation," CPW native aquatic species biologist Daniel Cammack told CPR. "This is the first year we've seen breeding occurring in this wetland, and it is evidence of that success."
The site was first identified as a spot for translocation 11 years ago, the outlet reported. In 2017, CPW and partner groups released 600 adult toads. Some 20,000 tadpoles have also been released there.
"This day is a culmination of a lot of dedicated people's efforts, including multiple biologists, technicians and hatchery personnel," Cammack told CPR. "Everyone who has been involved in this project has poured their heart and soul into it. That's what it takes to get here."
Contributing partners include the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, area universities, and neighboring states.
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