(KRON) — The Oakland Zoo released its 1,000th yellow-legged frog into California’s wilderness this week, marking a milestone for efforts to bring the native species back from the brink of extinction.
The zoo’s wildlife experts have been working for a decade to save the frog species, which was nearly wiped out by a deadly fungal disease, Chytridiomycosis (chytrid).
On Tuesday, an Oakland Zoo crew flew 43 frogs on a helicopter to a release site in Laurel Lake at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park.
“Releasing our 1,000th mountain yellow-legged frog is a major milestone. It’s a number that you hope to achieve when you start a program. We need to keep this movement going to continue helping native California wildlife and make sure that these frogs don’t disappear,” said Samantha Sammons, Wildlife Recovery Program Manager at Oakland Zoo…