AMPHIBIANS
Releasing Gopher Frogs by Aubrey Greene, Wildlife Diversity Biologist/Herpetologist E arly summer brings new begin- nings for the head-started gopher
frogs our NC Zoo partners have been taking such good care of since late January. As the tadpoles start to meta- morphose, we prep for their release back to the Sandhills Game Lands. To do this, we dig starter burrows to help the released frogs adjust to their new surroundings. We also coordinate with the Zoo to release frogs in the evenings when it is not so hot. Before release, Zoo staff mark each newly metamorphosed frog using VIE (Visi- ble Implant Elastomer) Tags, so we can distinguish head-started frogs from non-head-started frogs in the future. We started releasing juvenile frogs on June 14, and we have released ~300 gopher frogs back onto the land- scape so far this year! Releases will wrap up by the end of July.
Top right: Head-started gopher frogs. Bottom: A head-started gopher frog in a starter burrow.
AUBREY H. GREEN/NCWRC
AUBREY H. GREEN/NCWRC
38 2024 Wildlife Diversity Program Annual Report
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