Gopher Frog, Lithobates capito Conservation Status: Threatened The Gopher Frog is the rarest frog in Georgia. The Amphibian Foundation and partners have been head-starting this species for 10 years. Head-starting is a conservation tool where eggs are collected from the wild. Then, the eggs are cared for until they hatch, and the tadpoles are raised through metamorphosis. The froglets are then released back into the wild into protected habitats. Gopher Frogs are imperiled in part because they are indigenous to the Long Leaf Pine ecosystem, which has been reduced by 97% of it’s original range in the south-east US. Gopher Frogs inhabit the burrows built by other imperiled species living in the Long Leaf Pine ecosystem such as Gopher Tortoises and Pocket Gophers. Gopher Frogs, and hundreds of other species like Indigo Snakes and Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes share the Gopher Tortoise burrows to escape from the heat and wildfires which occur regularly in the region. Gopher Frogs breed in ephemeral, or seasonal wetlands that only hold water for short periods of time. They will not breed in permanent wetlands or ponds that have failed to dry out prior to their breeding season. Many species of amphibian rely on these seasonal pools to breed, and while it adds pressure — the tadpoles have to complete metamorphosis before the ponds dry out — it does insure they can develop in the absence of predatory fish which obviously can’t persist in a wetland which dries regularly. This is an illustration that came out particularly well ;)

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