Buffalo Zoo Ships Tadpoles As Part of a Major Wildlife Conservation Effort

by Katrina McIntosh, reptile keeper at the Buffalo Zoo

The Buffalo Zoo shipped out over 1400 Puerto Rican crested toad tadpoles on November 19 2013 to be released back into the wild in Puerto Rico!

The Puerto Rican crested toad is an amazing amphibian! Within 24 hours after eggs are laid, tadpoles hatch and cling to their egg strands.  At this point they look like swirly blobs. After another 12- 24 hours pass, they become free-swimming tadpoles. They develop back legs within 10 days. Front legs appear a few days later. Shortly after developing these front legs, they will emerge from the water and live on land. The tadpoles still have a little of their tails left when they start living on land. They will absorb the remainder of these tails within a day or two. Once they no longer have tails they will start to eat smaller versions of what the adult toads eat. This whole process takes about 21 days which is incredibly fast for an amphibian!

An emerging Puerto Rican Crested Toad tadpole.

Since these tadpoles grow so quickly, every day they look bigger and have new changes. As an animal keeper at the Zoo, it is exciting to see the changes and watch them grow into toads. The Buffalo Zoo usually ships tadpoles around a week after they hatch, so that they are still small enough to ship safely. We participate in a Species Survival Plan (SSP) for this species.

An adult Puerto Rican crested toad.

All of the tadpoles we released this year were from one set of parents. The female is about 7 years old and the male is 2 years old.  A lot of preparation is made for breeding these toads. First, the toads go through a cooling cycle. This is where they are placed in an area where they are cooled to 66°F for about a month.  This encourages the female to produce eggs. Once they are done being cooled, they are then fed for a week straight. After they have had a week at their normal temperatures of 86°F they are then placed in a large tub that is half-full of water. This tub is set up 2 months prior to the breeding to grow green algae which the tadpoles will eat. There are fake plants, ceramic pots, and floating hide huts in these tubs to give the toads access to land areas and lots of items for the female to lay her eggs around. We even set up a sprinkler to act as rain in the tub. The toads tend to breed during rain events in Puerto Rico, so the rain bar mimics rain. While the female lays her eggs, the male rides around on her back fertilizing them through external fertilization. Once all eggs are laid, the toads are removed from the tub and placed into tanks where they will be feed daily for a week and monitored closely. The parents are removed so as not to disturb the delicate eggs. Within 24 hours of the eggs being laid tadpoles will hatch.

Katrina McIntosh packs tadpoles before shipping to Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rican crested toads were nearly extinct by 1980 due to habitat destruction and predation. As a result of conservation efforts and programs by zoos, there are now some stable populations of these toads in the wild. It is very rewarding to work with this program and to know that the Buffalo Zoo is doing our part to help save the Puerto Rican crested toads.

Help the Bears Just by Helping the Planet!

Want an easy way to help the Buffalo Zoo build a new polar bear exhibit? We've teamed up with myActions.org, the social network for the planet to give you just that! By participating in our 15-day challenge, you'll be able to increase your own energy conservation efforts while helping us to raise money for the new Arctic Edge exhibit.

It's super easy! Starting on September 21, you can just click here to sign up and join the Arctic Edge challenge. Select one of our animal teams and then click the yellow "Sign up and Join this team" button.

The 15-day challenge is simple. All you have to do is complete 15 actions in 15 days. The actions can be almost anything that conserves energy, from riding your bike to recycling a can!  After joining a team, you can explore the site to see the categories of actions you and your family can start doing to help the planet (and save polar bears!) To choose an action, just click on the item that closely matches the action you have accomplished.

For every conservation action you do, myActions.org will donate up to $0.50 per action to the Arctic Edge exhibit. Not only will you be helping to protect the polar bears' shrinking natural habitat, but you'll be helping the Buffalo Zoo's polar bears too! Joining is free and easy, so please join the challenge today and become part of this great online green community!

A Party for the Planet!

The Buffalo Zoo and the WNY Earth Day Committee will host Party for the Planet on Saturday Jun 22, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Join area environmental groups to explore what we can all do to become more earth-friendly and how to protect our planet. There will be live performances by Mama Earth’s Kitchen Band with Sue Rotzler at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. All activities are FREE with Zoo admission.

Participants will include:

• Alexander School
• Batavia School
• Buffalo Museum of Science
• Buffalo Zoo Earth Smart Squad
• Compeer
• Daeman CSCCE
• Erie Co. Recycling
• Erie Co. Stormwater
• Food & Water
• Green Party
• Make N Mold
• Modern Waste
• Orchard Park School
• PUSH Bflo
• Recycling Alliance
• School House #8
• Sierra Club
• Solar Liberty
• UB Regional Institute
• Unitarian School
• Weather Medic/WNY Peace Center
• WNY Reading Council
• WOYP

 For more information about the Party for the Planet, please call the Zoo at (716) 837-3900.

The event is sponsored by the Buffalo Zoo, Daeman College Center for Sustainable Communities and Civic Engagement, and WNY Earth Day Committee, with special thanks to Star 102.5.

My Trip to the Polar Bear Capitol of the World – Part 2

by Caitlyn Bruce, Keeper at the Buffalo Zoo

(Read Part 1 Here)

Even though I work with polar bears every day at the Buffalo Zoo, there was a huge difference for me between that and seeing wild bears in their natural environment.  The thing that had the greatest impact on me though, was seeing the Aurora Borealis the first night we were in Churchill.  We were in the middle of a class discussion around 8:30pm when we were interrupted with “the northern lights are outside!” 

We were lucky enough to be staying at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, a LEED gold certified building constructed to house researchers conducting studies in the Churchill area.  One of the many benefits of staying there was the second story outdoor observation deck.  Being in the heart of polar bear country, you certainly don’t want to go outside on the ground at night, but having a second story deck made viewing the Aurora outside possible. I will never forget standing outside in the freezing cold, gazing straight up and watching the sky swirl and shimmer, changing colors from green to red and back again. It is truly something you have to see first hand to appreciate. 

Leadership Camp was a once in a life time experience that taught me so much.  The knowledge and skills I gained will definitely help me in my new role as a “community change agent” as we ALL work towards a future that includes the existence of polar bears.  After all, I want to live in a world where it will be possible for my future children and grandchildren to have the same experience I had, seeing the magnificent wild polar bear roaming the arctic tundra.