The Los Angeles Zoo has released more than 600 endangered southern mountain yellow-legged frogs into the wild as part of a long-running recovery effort led by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The release included 450 tadpoles and 193 subadult frogs, most of which were bred at the L.A. Zoo, as well as 38 frogs that were rescued from the wild in 2024.
Conservationists from the Aquarium of the Pacific also participated in the effort, which required teams to hike into a remote section of the San Gabriel Mountains. The exact release location was not disclosed to protect the fragile ecosystem.
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Southern mountain yellow-legged frog tadpoles seen in July 2025 at an undisclosed location in the San Gabriel Mountains. (L.A. Zoo) -
Sub-adult southern mountain yellow-legged frog at release site in San Gabriel Mountains in July 2025. (L.A. Zoo) -
Newly released southern mountain yellow-legged frog sub-adult in wild at San Gabriel Mountains in July 2025. (L.A. Zoo) -
L.A. Zoo animal keepers Luc M. and Suzie H. safely pack southern mountain yellow-legged frog tadpoles for release into the San Gabriel Mountains in July 2025. (L.A. Zoo)
“The L.A. Zoo has taken another major step in recovering a local endangered species with our successful southern mountain yellow-legged frog breeding program,” said Byron Wusstig, curator of ectotherms at the Los Angeles Zoo. “I look forward to seeing these tadpoles and frogs help repopulate these remote areas of the San Gabriel Mountains.”
Since the zoo began breeding the frogs in 2007, more than 6,000 have been released into the wild. The new release supports an ongoing strategy to raise frogs past their most vulnerable stages before returning them to their native habitat and increasing their chances of survival.
The LA Zoo says it is also developing a headstarting facility inside its former Children’s Discovery Center. The retrofitted space will allow frogs to mature to a more robust size prior to release, providing further protection against predators.
“This was my second time on a southern mountain yellow-legged frog release,” said Luc Myers, an animal keeper at the zoo. “Hiking out on the San Gabriels with a cooler on my back, carrying these precious frogs was nothing short of amazing.”
The species is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and now survives only in isolated pockets of Southern California’s mountains.
The frogs can also be seen in the zoo’s LAIR exhibit, which remains open to the public.