Tiny Frogs Travel Thousands of Miles to Save Their Species

chiloe island, chile; london, uk - Eleven male Darwin's frogs make a long journey to London Zoo to help save their endangered species from a deadly fungus.

Main Goal: Saving a Species

Eleven male Darwin's frogs are on a mission to save their species from extinction. These tiny frogs, native to an isolated part of Chiloé Island in Chile, are under threat from a deadly fungus known as 'Chytridiomycota'.

In a desperate attempt to rescue the species, a team of conservationists traveled to Chile to collect healthy Darwin's frogs. They managed to gather 52 frogs, transporting them over 11,000 kilometers to London Zoo, where eleven males carried 33 tadpoles that were born in captivity.

Ben Tapley, the amphibian curator at London Zoo, emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, 'We knew we were embarking on something special: time was running out, and we had to act quickly if we wanted to save these frogs.'

Now housed in pairs in specially designed tanks mimicking their natural habitat, the frogs will be part of a breeding program to ensure their survival. The London Zoo aims to release these frogs back into the wild in the future. This conservation effort not only benefits the species but also provides insights into combating the deadly fungus and protecting amphibians worldwide.