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| Boreal toads in their enclosure at The Living Planet |
Whatever the reasons for their
disappearance, organizations such as The Living Planet Aquarium are
stepping up to help. Under the direction of the Colorado Division of
Wildlife Resources (DWR), efforts are underway to breed boreal toads
and repopulate the species. As part of these efforts, boreal toads
were carefully collected from the wild and distributed to zoos,
aquariums, and DWR facilities. Karl Lye, a herpetologist and member
of the husbandry staff at The Living Planet, headed up the care of
the aquarium's toads and was assisted by other members of the
husbandry team. Over the last five years, they have raised their
toads from a semi-tadpole stage into adults.
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| A few of the boreal toads being raised at the aquarium |
At this point, the process becomes a
little trickier. Boreal toads will not breed unless they go through
a process called brumation. Brumation is a hibernation-like state
and is how the toads would survive the cold of winter in the wild.
In order to simulate winter conditions and induce brumation, Karl
converted a small fridge into a brumation chamber for the toads.
Using a thermostat and remote sensing equipment, the chamber was
designed so that the weather inside could remain stable at a balmy
34-42 degrees Fahrenheit with as little intrusion as possible.
Extensive records are kept of the temperature and humidity, as
monitored from the remote sensor. Every two weeks, staff check on
the toads and rinse their substrate to keep them clean and healthy.
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| Brumation chamber, created using a small fridge |
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| Brumation chamber open, revealing boreal toad enclosure |
During brumation, the toads do not eat
and are mostly inactive, conserving their energy. This process can
be hard on them, and in the wild, some do not survive. Because of
this, only the healthiest of the aquarium's toads were chosen for the
brumation chamber: two males and two females. The toads went into
the chamber in February and just recently came back out. They spent
a couple of days adjusting to the new warmer temperatures before
being introduced into their breeding tank. With any luck, the
aquarium will soon be proud caretakers of brand new baby toads (eggs
at first and then tadpoles)! Any offspring will be given to the
Colorado DWR, who will reintroduce them into the wild, being careful
to chose locations where they are naturally occurring and likely to
thrive.
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| Boreal toads in a state of brumation |
How you can help:
All of us play an important role in
keeping Utah's ecosystems healthy. Here are a few ways that you can
help the toads and other critters that inhabit our local landscape.
- Be careful what you put down the drain or into the gutters; it can all end up downstream in a boreal toad's habitat.
- If you see a boreal toad (or any wildlife, for that matter) please leave it be; take pictures, but leave the critter and its habitat as you found it.
- In some places, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has put up signs asking people to report any boreal toads they see. Reporting sightings can help further boreal toad research and efforts to understand more about what is happening to them and help stop their disappearance.
