Gopher frog work continues!

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[click on an image to enlarge and see captions]





“Last Thursday I travelled down to the Williams Bluff Preserve, which is where we release head started Gopher Frogs.  Along with me was our conservation intern Leslie and we met with folks from the University of Georgia, Zoo Atlanta, and Georgia Department of Natural Resources.  Our goal was to construct several outdoor pens where we can release some of the Gopher Frogs that we and our partners are raising.  Using these pens, we can better monitor the young frogs over time and see how well they adjust to their new surroundings on the preserve.  Studies like this can give us a better understanding of what the head started frogs do after we release them, and inform us on well they survive the delicate first months out of the water.  Each pen measures approximately 25 meters squared and will house between 25-30 metamorphosed frogs.  As you will see in the pictures, each pen is essentially a walled in area of the preserve with as little disturbance as possible.  Hopefully these pens work out well and we can go back in several months and see some fat happy sub-adult Gopher Frogs!” —Robert Hill

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