THE PROVINCE (Vancouver, British Columbia) 04 October 07 Rare spotted frogs to be released today - Oregon species have been raised at the Greater Vancouver Zoo (Kent Spencer)
Hundreds of rare frogs are hopping into the marshlands of Seabird Island today in a program to protect endangered species.
The Oregon spotted frogs have been raised at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in Langley, which has arranged their release.
"These little guys are endangered, probably the most endangered frogs in all of Canada," said the zoo's Jody Henderson yesterday. "We're very excited."
Despite their name, the frogs are found throughout the Pacific Northwest, not just Oregon.
The medium-sized amphibians are reddish-brown with black spots.
Once numbering in the hundreds of thousands, they have dwindled by an estimated 90 per cent.
Their biggest predator is the non-native bullfrog, which was accidentally introduced to the region from Eastern Canada about 50 years ago and is twice their size.
The creatures' other challenges include rapidly growing grasses that gobble up habitat and loss of wetlands due to human activities.
Spotted frogs are not known for their croaking. The low-pitched calls they make come mainly at mating time and sound like pieces of wood being clicked together.
They are far more aquatic than other native frogs, only leaving their water habitats for short periods. They never move between ponds except by connecting waterways.
The latest batch of frogs, the zoo's seventh, were raised from tadpoles and kept in enclosures covered by netting. They will add to the estimated 300 still living in B.C.
"We have a keeper who checks on them daily," said Henderson.
This morning, a release team will tag each amphibian with a small dab of coloured dye for identification purposes. They will be weighed, measured and counted in a three-hour process.
After that, it's a one-hour trip to Seabird Island near Agassiz for release in a marshy area protected by natives.
"Frogs are an important part of the whole ecological chain," said Henderson. "We need frogs to take care of other species."
Rare spotted frogs to be released today