Here at Australia Zoo,
we are so passionate about our conservation breeding programs.
But exactly how do they work?
Well, we're going to take you for a behind-the-scenes look at exactly
what goes into making these vital breeding programs.
And the animals we're going to be talking about are our beautiful poison dart frogs.
[Voice Over] Introducing new
animals to our zoo family can take years of planning.
Then the first step when they do arrive is to quarantine them and ensure
that they are happy and healthy before starting their new life at the zoo.
Here's Nick to tell us more about it.
[Nick] Really exciting day for our reptile department today- or for the whole zoo actually.
We've got three blue poison dart frogs that have come from Adelaide Zoo,
all females
and these guys are going to be vital to our breeding program here at the zoo.
We always wear gloves purely for the frogs' benefit.
These guys utilise a process called cutaneous gas exchange,
and that means that they can
actually absorb gas through their skin, including oxygen,
so they can breathe through their skin, they can drink through their skin.
So we always wear gloves.
Even if we're working in the enclosures, we keep the touching to a bare minimum.
I'm so excited.
Everybody knows how much I love frogs, but the whole team is really,
really excited.
A little bit nervous to breed these guys.
Being an exotic frog, there's a very high chance
we won't ever get this species back into Australia again.
So we're going to try really hard.
We're going to do our best and I think we're up for it.
[Mel Voice Over] Organising the movement of animals between
zoos can take months or even years.
Our dart frogs arrived in multiple stages, in coordination
with other participating facilities.
[Nick] So transporting frogs is always a little bit of a risky business.
You've got to make sure you've got enough humidity for these guys
to stay nice and moist while they're being transported.
We're now at a total of
17 poison arrow frogs in our collection.
What we've got to do now, we've got to unpack all of these individual frogs
and we've got to weigh them and get an identification photograph,
and then we're going to assign them enclosures
Not all dart frogs are toxic.
These guys are in the wild and it's all from their diet.
So ants and beetles that are toxic.
These guys ingest and then generate a toxin from them.
These guys
are one of the most beautiful creatures on the planet, in my opinion.
But when you see the colour of them, it's not hard to see why
people are absolutely crazy about these little frogs.
Such an amazing looking animal.
I just cannot wait to have them on display.
I think people are going to go nuts for these arrow frogs.
Really cool.
[Mel] One of the most exciting things that we get to do for a new animal
is to build them a beautiful new home.
For our poison dart frogs,
Nick and our reptiles department worked closely with our artist and construction
crew to design the best possible home to suit their amphibian needs.
Concrete makes a fantastic foundation for creating many of our habitats at the zoo.
It can be shaped and textured to form any design
and it gives us full control over all the variables
needed to make this high quality, natural and enriching environment for our frogs.
The end result will not only
replicate a natural rainforest floor to give the frogs a great life,
but we hope that it will also encourage breeding in their own time.
And finally, the most exciting day
is introducing the frogs to their brand new home.
[Nick] The last six months, it's been
a lot of planning to a point where we can now
put these frogs on display for all of the guests to be able to
really enjoy and love as much as we do because they're absolutely spectacular
little frogs.
Can't really imagine that mother nature can create such beautiful colours.
So I'm obviously excited.
But I think when we get guests up here crowding around and they can spot a
frog or two, I think you're going to see the smiles on their faces.
That is cool.
It's such a big exhibit for
such a small number of frogs, so fantastic for the frogs.
Just want people to be able to spot them as well, you know?
[Mel] But the question is, did all the hard work pay off?
So here we are, nearly four years on from receiving our first poison arrow frog.
And I can comfortably say it's been an enormous success
The little ecosystem that we've been able to develop is working wonders
because they've now started breeding completely autonomously.
We don't have to touch that exhibit.
And these animals
do what they would naturally do in the wild, which is a real testament to
the way that this area is being maintained and how happy the frogs really are
Now we've got
17 frogs in this exhibit currently, and there's a tiny little metamorph
which is a little froglet. These little bromeliads are the perfect
little space for these guys to reproduce.
And what occurs is the female will deposit the fertilised egg
within a tiny little water body.
Which we've got here inside the bromeliad.
After about 40 days it will pop out of that bromeliad,
and is completely independent.
Pretty big space for such a tiny little frog.
Australia Zoo is now
the stronghold for this particular species in the region.
And Harrison, who's our species coordinator,
he's doing an absolutely amazing job to ensure the long term viability
of this species within our region by working with stakeholders.
And he organises all of the transfers and the reproductive events so
that we have a really genetically healthy cohort of dart frogs in Australasia.
I'm very proud of the team and the results are incredible
and it's such a joy to see people enjoying these amazing species
on this planet.
Well, there you go.
A little sneak peek into what goes into setting up one of our breeding programs.
Since we last checked in with Nick, that froglet has turned into a frog.
So what a success.
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and education program stories.