Conservation Efforts

As part of the Association of Zoo’s and Aquariums, and in cooperation with Arizona Game and Fish Department, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Phoenix Zoo has been involved in local, regional and international efforts to save and protect numerous wildlife species, including the amphibian population. Because of high mortality rates in the wild of Chiricahua leopard frog eggs, and small tadpoles, captive head-starting provides a greater chance of survival for late-stage tadpoles or small frogs. In the wild, approximately five percent or less of the eggs in a mass survives to metamorphosis. In captivity, we have had more than 90 percent of an egg mass survive to be released as froglets or late-stage tadpoles. By releasing a large number of animals back into a site, you greatly increase the chance that more will survive to adulthood and reproduce as well as preserving valuable genes.