Just because “Houston” is in their name doesn’t mean we can’t help them out. The Fort Worth Zoo, in partnership with Texas State University and the Houston Zoo, released thousands of endangered toads — called Houston toads — at a protected release site in Bastrop County.
According to a press release, the partnership bred 98 pairs of the endangered toad and successfully released 434,765 eggs and 23,760 tadpoles. The zoo is one of four facilities that breeds the species under managed care. A banner year, 2022 marks the most eggs and tadpoles released in a single year since the program began releasing the toads in 2014.
This year, a full-time reproductive physiologist determined when females were ready to breed. Breeding matches were then made based on the psychologist’s findings.
According to the Fort Worth Zoo, the rare toad was one of the first amphibians listed on the Endangered Species Act in 1970, and it is believed there are fewer than200 Houston toads left in the wild. The Fort Worth Zoo is planning on a second Houston toad breeding facility later this year, which will double the zoo’s capacity to breed this species.