“It’s been 17 years since the bright yellow Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki) hopped through its native habitat. But after nearly two decades of hard work, conservationists are finally reintroducing a new generation of the tiny, fluorescent amphibians back into the tropical island’s ecosystem.

The saga began in the late 1980s, when an invasive fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) arrived in lower Central America…

While Bd isn’t a problem for humans, it’s devastating to many amphibians like the golden frog…

Wildlife biologists at the Smithsonian-affiliated Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project (PARC) worked for years to continue breeding both golden frogs and related species in controlled facilities. Only recently were lab populations stable enough to move on to the next stage…

Chytridiomycosis still exists in multiple regions around Panama, and remains a problem for the frogs. Researchers estimate about 70 of the 100 golden frogs died from the disease during the initial, 12-week soft release. Fortunately, many of the surviving frogs were eventually rewilded.”

From Popular Science.