Northern leopard frog population thriving in B.C. wetlands

Northern leopard frogs being reintroduced into B.C. wetlands by the Wilder Institute are 20 per cent larger and have increased its odds of survival (Photo courtesy Wilder Institute)

An endangered frog species is thriving after being reintroduced to a site in the B.C. wetlands last year.

The Wilder Institute, which partners with the Calgary Zoo on a variety of conservation projects, issued a release Thursday announcing that northern leopard frogs released into the wetlands are 20 per cent larger and 114 per cent  heavier, which increases its odds for survival.

Those odds in fact have increased to 16.9 per cent from a typical survival rate of three to six per cent for other true frogs.

"In our final surveys of 2022, tadpoles showed early signs of success, with young-of-year already reaching the size that you would expect from a two-year-old northern leopard frog," said conservation research population ecologist Rebecca Stanton.

"This is exciting news since overwinter survival is a challenge for this endangered species," Stanton added. "We’re cautiously optimistic that this could mean wild breeding for the frogs that we released."

The Rocky Mountain population of the northern leopard frog is listed as endangered nationally and critically imperiled in B.C.

The Wilder Institute is using conservation translocation to prevent local extinction by introducing the frogs to parts of their historical range.