Southern California’s mountain yellow-legged frog has made a remarkable leap toward recovery for an endangered species, rebounding in just two years from near-extinction brought on by development, fires, fungal infections and predatory trout, federal biologists said on Monday. In 2010, only 200 remained in isolated wild populations, prompting federal wildlife authorities and zoos in Fresno, Los Angeles and San Diego to launch an ambitious recovery program that included captive breeding facilities, trout removal programs and barring public access to areas where frogs were clinging to existence. Last week’s reintroduction of 100 captive-bred juveniles to Indian Creek at the James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve in Riverside County brought the total number of wild frogs scientists know as Rana muscosa to roughly 1,000, according to Robert Fisher, a research biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. About 25% of the frogs released into Indian Creek were outfitted with radio transmitters, Jennifer Gee, director of the James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve, said. “Their signals, which are monitored nearly every day, are providing valuable information about the species’ behavior,” she said...more
These little frogs, just like us little people, are being monitored by the feds every day.
And speaking of endangered amphibians, whatever happened to the Budweiser frogs? And the Budweiser lizards, Frank and Louie. I miss those guys. Somebody tell Robert Fisher they are much more important than any Rana muscosa. Surely the feds have some drone-like minisubs they can use to find them. Wanna make the ESA more popular? Then find those Budweiser frogs...but I'll bet you won't get any radio transmitters on them.
Oh look, I found them, without any help from the feds:
http://youtu.be/f3mXaATLeRM
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