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.

BUFFALO ZOO’S STATEMENT ON SILVERBACK GORILLA

Just before 11:00 a.m., Koga, the Buffalo Zoo’s 24-year-old silverback gorilla, accessed the animal keeper aisle, located in a secure non-public area behind the gorilla exhibit. The keeper, who was servicing the area, sustained superficial bite wounds on her right hand and left calf. For safety, the keeper locked herself in one of the holding cages with Sidney, a 14-year-old gorilla, and her one-and-a-half-year-old baby, Amari, who both know the keeper well.

The keeper alerted the animal escape team. Protocols were in place and meticulously followed.

Visitors were escorted into safe areas. The Buffalo Zoo’s veterinary team immobilized Koga and placed him back into his holding area.

The keeper was treated onsite for her injuries and was transported to the hospital for further evaluation.

“In this emergency situation, we experienced the best possible outcome thanks to the training and professionalism of the Buffalo Zoo staff, as well as members of the Buffalo Police Department, especially the SWAT team,” said Dr. Donna M. Fernandes, Buffalo Zoo President/CEO.

The Buffalo Zoo reopened to the public at 1:00 p.m. Koga will be off exhibit for the remainder of the day.

About the Buffalo Zoo’s Four Western Lowland Gorillas:

Koga was born at the Bronx Zoo. He was transferred to the Memphis Zoo in 1994, where he was exhibited with a group of four bachelors. He arrived at the Buffalo Zoo on April 25, 2007 to join the Zoo’s four female gorillas, Kwizera, Becky, Lily and Sidney, who had been without a silverback since the Zoo’s silverback, Omega, passed away in 2005.  Koga’s transfer from Memphis to Buffalo was recommended as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is designed to help a species maintain a stable, healthy and genetically diverse population in zoos.

On October 8, 2010, Buffalo Zoo staff welcomed baby, Amari, into their family. Amari was born to first-time parents, mother, Sidney, who was born at the Buffalo Zoo in 1997, and Koga.

Sidney, Amari and Koga now reside with Lily, who was born at the Buffalo Zoo in 2000