For Immediate Release: March 10, 2022
45 Frogs Released as Part of Conservation Partnership with SCDNR
[Columbia, SC] — The state-endangered gopher frog has a new jump on life because of a ‘Head Start’ conservation partnership with Riverbanks Zoo and Garden and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
To date, state herpetologists and herpetologists with Riverbanks Zoo have released more than 300 frogs in species protected areas of the Low Country. A group of 45 including 10 adults was released last week adding to the protected population.
“By releasing some adults, we hope the frogs will have a better chance of survival,” said Sean Foley, curator of herpetology at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. “We will monitor breeding habits through DNA samples collected from the frogs prior to release.”
Riverbanks has been caring for gopher frogs for more than twenty years—successfully reproducing the species in 2016. This was the first natural breeding of gopher frogs in professional care. Foley adds that receiving gopher frog eggs from SCDNR is a natural fit.
“Riverbanks has been very successful in rearing tadpoles as they morph into froglets and are mature enough to be released back into the wild,” said Foley. “We are hopeful that we will soon be able to augment wild populations through our partnership with SCDNR for the foreseeable future.”
Gopher frog populations have dramatically declined in South Carolina mostly through habitat loss of longleaf pine ecosystems. Riverbanks now has about 30 gopher frogs on habitat at the Zoo.