Red-legged frogs are once again thriving in Yosemite

Just two years after being reintroduced to Yosemite National Park, the red-legged frog is doing better than ever.

Mark Twain wrote about the frog in his short story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. In the 1950s, non-native bullfrogs and a fungal disease wiped the frogs off the Yosemite map, and 50 years later, the park, the Yosemite Conservancy, and the San Francisco Zoo teamed up to bring the threatened species back.

Thousands of tadpoles and adult red-legged frogs were bred at the zoo, then released in Yosemite in 2017. This spring, scientists spotted the first signs of breeding in the park: tadpoles and clusters of eggs. "It's unusual to find eggs in any location, and to find them this soon is a strong indication that red-legged frogs are adapting successfully to the riparian areas where we reintroduced them," Yosemite Superintendent Mark Reynolds told USA Today. In June, 275 additional adult frogs will be released, including 75 with radio transmitters, so researchers can get a better understanding of their habits and behaviors.

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