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Tiny frogs hatch, a giant leap for endangered species
15 Oct
Summary
- Critically endangered Afia Birago frogs, smaller than a pencil tip, have hatched.
- No other zoo is known to be keeping this species first described in 2018.
- Breeding techniques are being shared to establish a wild population in Ghana.
Critically endangered frogs, measuring a mere 5mm, have successfully hatched, representing a major advancement for a species facing an uncertain future. These tiny amphibians, which weigh less than 1.75g when fully grown, were first described by scientists in 2018. Currently, no other zoo or institution is known to house this species.
Keepers have developed specialized breeding techniques for these frogs, information they are now sharing with Ghana's CSIR-Forestry Research Institute in Kumasi. The ultimate goal is to establish a breeding population in Ghana capable of being released into the wild.
Ghanaian conservationist Caleb Ofori-Boateng named the species after his mother, Afia Birago, ensuring her legacy continues through the survival of this frog. This success follows the zoo's prior achievement in November with the Atewa slippery frog, another critically endangered species from the same forest that had never been bred in captivity before.
