SYDNEY - In its latest bid to restore the population of the endangered species, the government of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) announced on Tuesday the release of 100 critically endangered spotted tree frogs back into the wild.
The frog species were completely wiped out in NSW in 2001 due to chytrid fungus, which causes sporadic deaths in frog colonies and affects frog populations around the globe.
The new population of the frogs was bred in captivity after being sourced from areas of the Australian state of Victoria where they have displayed resistance to the disease.
NSW Minister for Environment James Griffin said this would give the frogs a "second chance" in the state as their population was again tipped to the brink of local extinction following Australia's 2019-20 bushfires.
"Releasing these 100 spotted tree frogs back into the wild despite all the setbacks this species has faced is a reminder to have optimism about the conservation work we're doing because it's clearly making a positive difference," said Griffin.
The release marks the first attempt to restore the species' population since the bushfires. They were released in Kosciuszko National Park, Australia's highest alpine environment.
NSW Threatened Species Officer David Hunter said the alpine environments in both NSW and Victoria are the only places in the world where the frog can thrive.
"The spotted tree frog is fundamental to the maintenance of ecosystem health in the NSW upland rivers where it lives. It occupies many streams where they are the only frog species, and tadpoles of this species consume nutrients and algae in large numbers," said Hunter.
"They are also food for other species such as snakes, birds, mammals and predatory invertebrates, playing an important role in the food web."
Environment NSW's partnership with Zoos Victoria and the Amphibian Research Center in Melbourne seeks to return the frogs to a sustainable level in both states, as their populations have been fractured by fire and disease.
The NSW government's Saving our Species program has received 175 million Australian dollars (about 125 million U.S. dollars) in funding, and would protect over 1,000 at-risk species at over 850 sites across the state. - XINHUA