Endangered giant burrowing frog returns to wild after tadpoles rescued from ashes of black summer fires
News Source
•Wed, 04 Nov 2026 14:01:35 GMT
📰 What Happened
Fifty-three southern giant burrowing frogs are back in the wild in remote East Gippsland. They started as tadpoles scooped from puddles after the 2019-20 black summer bushfires. Keepers raised them at Melbourne Zoo.
About 160 tadpoles were collected as the fires tore through the region. The zoo bred the species in captivity for the first time last year. The 53 frogs, all males about five years old, went back into the bush after storms dropped 80 to 100mm of rain.
🔍 The Backstory
The southern giant burrowing frog is one of Victoria's hardest animals to find. Adults grow to about the size of a cricket ball and can live more than 20 years. They spend most of their lives buried in sandy soil and only surface after heavy rain to breed.
Scientists split the species into northern and southern types in 2021. Habitat loss, drought and bigger fires have hit it hard. Victoria now has only five known breeding sites for the southern type, which is listed as critically endangered in the state.
🎯 Why It Matters
One of Victoria's rarest animals has a second chance in the wild. It also shows a zoo breeding program can buy a species time when fires and drought keep coming.
Fifty-three southern giant burrowing frogs are back in the wild in remote East Gippsland. They started as tadpoles scooped from puddles after the 2019-20 black summer bushfires. Keepers raised them at Melbourne Zoo.
About 160 tadpoles were collected as the fires tore through the region. The zoo bred the species in captivity for the first time last year. The 53 frogs, all males about five years old, went back into the bush after storms dropped 80 to 100mm of rain.
The southern giant burrowing frog is one of Victoria's hardest animals to find. Adults grow to about the size of a cricket ball and can live more than 20 years. They spend most of their lives buried in sandy soil and only surface after heavy rain to breed.
Scientists split the species into northern and southern types in 2021. Habitat loss, drought and bigger fires have hit it hard. Victoria now has only five known breeding sites for the southern type, which is listed as critically endangered in the state.
One of Victoria's rarest animals has a second chance in the wild. It also shows a zoo breeding program can buy a species time when fires and drought keep coming.