Maryland Zoo helping rebuild population of critically endangered Panamanian golden frogs

After facing extinction, the critically endangered Panamanian golden frogs are one step closer to being released back into the wild. The species has not been seen in the wild in more than 20 years.

The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is taking steps to help the species rebuild its population. The golden frogs are being moved from indoors to a carefully monitored open-air enclosure.

If this is successful, the ultimate goal is to eventually reintroduce them into the wild.

The study is led by local conservation teams at the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center Foundation (EVACC) with support from the Maryland Zoo, Fort Worth Zoo, Detroit Zoo, Zoo Atlanta, Seneca Park Zoo, and Project Golden Frog - the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan© (SSP) for the Panamanian Golden Frog.

"It is incredibly exciting to see the efforts we have made over the past two decades to keep this species healthy in both North America and Panama now moving closer to a day when they are back in the wild in the El Valle de Anton region," said Ellen Bronson, the senior director of Animal Health, Conservation, and Research at the Maryland Zoo.

Zoo officials say that the new outdoor study, conducted in shaded, screened enclosures, is the cautious next step in understanding how to safely return the Panamanian golden frogs to their native habitat.

According to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the Panamanian golden frogs have toxic skin that produces tetrodotoxin and a unique compound called zetekitoxin, which contains enough toxins to kill 1,200 mice.