Rare Frogs Released to a Protected Home

After years of careful work, scientists have successfully bred the endangered red and yellow mountain frog for the first time — and released seven tiny individuals back into a protected rainforest habitat.

“They’ve created the necessary conditions to mimic underground burrows, play chorusing frog sounds, and replicate the temperature cycle — it has taken four years to get here,” said Dr Liam Bolitho, part of the team at Southern Cross University in Australia.

These frogs measure only 3 cm as adults, and develop directly from much smaller eggs (about 3 mm) without a free-swimming tadpole stage. The release into Tooloom National Park marks the first step in restoring wild populations of this threatened species. Scientists will use audio recorders to monitor breeding calls and population survival in the coming years. As habitats continue to be protected and breeding techniques refined, this breakthrough offers renewed hope that even the smallest creatures can be saved with persistence and innovation.