Aquarium of the Pacific Releases Head‑Started Southern Mountain Yellow‑Legged Frogs into the Wild

At the break of dawn, staff at the Aquarium of the Pacific began a release of southern mountain yellow‑legged frogs (Rana muscosa), a species listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. The frogs, which had been reared in captivity since 2021 as part of a multi‑agency, 20‑plus‑year conservation effort, were caught from tanks early in the morning to avoid the heat. The cohort arrived last summer as two‑month‑old tadpoles from the Los Angeles Zoo and were monitored through metamorphosis, a process that can take one to five years in the wild and varies in captivity. By August most had fully metamorphosed and were released into the wild; those still incomplete will be held and released as larger adults next summer.