WYOMING – An extremely rare amphibian on the brink of extinction has been released into the wild in Wyoming in the hopes the animal will rebound. The Wyoming toad (sometimes referred to as Baxter’s toad) exists in the world in only one place: the Laramie Basin in Albany County, Wyoming.
The unique amphibian was considered endangered in 1984 and listed as extinct in the wild by 1991 despite the efforts of the Wyoming Toad Recovery Group, formed in 1987. Some toads were saved, however, and have been part of a worldwide captive breeding program spearheaded by the Saratoga National Fish Hatchery. A total of 900 new adult toads from the facility were recently released at three sites along the Laramie River on June 1.
The Buford Foundation, Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and another private ranch owned by Fred Lindzey all assisted in the recovery program. The release marked the first time adults have been reintroduced into the wild and the largest toad release ever.
“This release was the product of a number of partnerships, among the Service, the State and county and private landowners,” said Greg Gerlich, assistant regional director for Fish and Aquatic Conservation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The release is part of the 2015 recovery plan that set the delisting recovery goal as having establishing at least five self-sustaining populations.
The Wyoming toad is particularly susceptible to rapid climate change but the main reason for its demise is a pathogen called chytridimycosis, or chytrid, which threatens amphibians around the world. Release crews took every precaution from wearing gloves to disinfecting boots so as not to spread the disease.
“Chytrid fungus is basically the No. 1 threat to the toads, and we’ve got to keep them safe,” said Lizzy Mack, Wyoming toad manager at the Wyoming Ecological Services Office. Over the next few months Mack and her team will monitor this new population for chytrid as well as how well the toads adapt to their new homes.
The Wyoming toad was plentiful until the 1970s, when its population took a sudden and swift decline. It was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1984 and considered extinct shortly thereafter until rediscovery at Mortenson Lake southwest of Laramie in 1987. Some of the last known individuals were taken into captivity in 1989.
Captive breeding of the Wyoming toad has been ongoing since 1995 and now occurs at eight zoos around the country as well as the University of Wyoming’s Red Buttes Biological Laboratory and Saratoga National Fish Hatchery.
