The Amphibian Foundation's Frog Blog

  Lead veterinarian for the National Zoo of Chile in Santiago, Marcela Tirado , and amphibian biologist for the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Danté Fenolio , prepare to process an incoming batch of live frogs going into quarantine. Skin swabs are taken from newly collected frogs as they are entered into the quarantine process at the National Zoo of Chile. Skin swabs are non-invasive and screen for a potentially lethal fungal pathogen, amphibian chytrid fungus. This Darwin's Frog ( Rhinoderma darwinii ) is tolerating a brief skin swab. Newly collected and incoming frogs pass through a quarantine process that lasts a little longer than a week.  They live in plastic boxes throughout the quarantine window.  Frog boxes are changed for sterile boxes and are given a daily soak in a solution that kills amphibian chytrid fungus.  The procedures performed ensure that frogs entering the captive breeding facility are free of amphibian chytrid fungus.

Garden biologist, Danté Fenolio, stopped in Peru in route to Chile.  He consulted for a number of captive breeding and conservation programs, including a facility working to breed endangered Amazonian Manatees , Centro de Rescate Amazonico - CREA.  Local students can be seen here feeding a baby Amazonian Manatee, Trichechus inunguis . Caecilians are among the least known of all amphibians.  Most live underground, like this undescribed species of the genus Caecilia from the Peruvian Amazon.  A few caecilians, like this species of Typhlonectes , have adapted to aquatic life.

Bush Warriors , a Global Voice for Wildlife . published an article detailing the Garden's work with endangered frog species in Chile. Click here to read more ... a screen grab from the blog [ read the article ]

'To the Garden Community, A captive bred Darwin's frog is held by a researcher shortly after it was coughed up from its dad's vocal sac. Ten baby frogs were coughed up at a breeding facility in Chile on Thursday. Our little project in Chile just hit another milestone, we have male Darwin’s Frogs “coughing up” babies as you read this.  This year had a bumper crop of baby Darwin’s Frogs born and bred in the lab that we established in Santiago, Chile.  I believe that this is a moment that the Garden can be very proud of.  Darwin’s Frogs, along with many of South Chile’s amphibians, are imperiled owing to a host of anthropogenic environmental problems.  Most certainly, the international media is paying attention.  The largest newspaper in Chile is at the facility now taking pictures and doing interviews for a story.  Next week, the facility will be featured on a mainstream TV channel in Chile.  The zoo in Santiago just elected to do a series of...