The Loa Water Frog (Telmatobius dankoi) is a critically endangered frog from Chile. They are found only in 1 location, Las Cascadas along the Loa River. Sadly, the river has become inhabitable for the frogs. The river had dried up to illegal extraction of water for mining, agriculture, and urban development.
Last year in 2010, the last known Loa Water Frogs were taken from the wild to be kept safe in captivity. Unfortunately, there was only 14 frogs left. The frogs were flown to the National Zoo of Chile. The frogs arrived malnourished and unfortunately, 2 of them died. The other 12 are in great shape.
Lately, the researchers started to notice the female frogs gain weight and the male’s skins changing. Then, the female frogs laid eggs, a first for the species in captivity! The eggs then hatched into tadpoles! A total of 200 tadpoles of the Loa Water Frog hatched. Now, the zoo has the challenge of raising these tadpoles in hopes of saving the species.
