Natural History Wanderings

SF Gate reported

Dozens of rare amphibians boarded a helicopter from the Bay Area last week, unaware of the journey that was ahead: a 250-mile flight to their new home in a national park.

Yellow-legged frogs were once one of the most abundant animals in the alpine habitats of the Sierra Nevada. But for the past decade, the Oakland Zoo has been raising individuals from the now-endangered species and releasing them to the wild as a way to boost their numbers in the aftermath of a deadly disease that has decimated 90% of their population. Known as chytridiomycosis, or the chytrid fungus, the disease leads to “devastating effects” and has contributed to the greatest loss of biodiversity ever caused by a pathogen, the zoo said in a news release.

Read on www.sfgate.com/national-parks/article/rare-species-california-national-park-frog-20811053.php