When they warm up after this simulated winter, the toads at the NACC are ready to breed and are paired up with mates according to the recommendations of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) for Wyoming toads. The amphibians are also provided with a special mix of substrate to burrow into during this period – very similar to how Wyoming toads in the wild burrow below the frost line during the cold months. The amphibian staff use a refrigerator to replicate the natural winter cool down experienced by these critically endangered creatures, and to ease them into a state of lowered activity and metabolism. The NACC staff are experts at recreating these environmental cues.įacilitating breeding in Wyoming toads, for example, is a complex process involving temperature changes and natural material for burrowing. Amphibians are highly sensitive creatures who rely on the environmental conditions of their native habitats to cue their natural cycles of breeding and to maintain their overall health. A few of these species include Wyoming toads ( Bufo baxteri), striped newts ( Notophalmus perstriatus) and Puerto Rican crested toads ( Peltophryne lemur). Every year in the early months of spring, the top-notch staff at the NACC facilitate hibernation, breeding and rearing for endangered amphibians from all over the world with the intention of releasing them into their respective habitats in the wild.
This pattern also holds true for the animals at the Detroit Zoo’s National Amphibian Conservation Center (NACC).
Spring is the time of year when most amphibians in the wild are emerging from hibernation, breeding, and eventually laying eggs.