SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (Australia) 19 February 08 Zoo releases boorolong frogs in NSW
The first booroolong frogs to be bred in a zoo have been released back into the wild in NSW, in a bid to boost their numbers.
The release occurred one year after Sydney's Taronga Zoo started a breeding program to save the tiny amphibian.
The numbers of the critically endangered native species are falling dramatically, a zoo spokeswoman said, with fewer than 5,000 remaining in the wild.
The decline has been attributed to water pollution, loss of habitat and use of herbicides and pesticides, as well as chyrtid fungus and climate change, the spokesman said.
More than 600 booroolong frogs were released on Tuesday in south-western NSW following the breeding program which began last year with 34 of the frogs.
Zoo spokeswoman Sarah Mason said the program had been an unprecedented success and bode well for the future breeding of the endangered corroboree frog from the same area.
The corroboree frog's population has been devastated by the deadly chytrid fungus, with only 50 remaining in the National Park, Ms Mason said.
"Chytrid fungus is an infectious disease which attacks frogs in cool mountainous regions," she said.
"The disease has also caused dramatic decline in frog species from New Zealand, USA, Central America, South America, Spain and Germany and is notoriously difficult to treat.
"Taronga Zoo is continuing to conduct field research and breeding to boost corroboree frog numbers.
"However, current environmental threats to the species mean that a release is unlikely until next year at the earliest."
Zoo releases boorolong frogs in NSW