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ARHold me now, I’m six feet from the edge (of extinction).
Just kidding. We’re more hopeful than that.
One of the most imperiled amphibians in the Southeastern US, the frosted flatwoods salamander needs a lot of help to recover its populations. One of the tools we and our partners use to lower the risk of extinction is headstarting, or captive raising.
During the wet weather of fall and winter, this species migrates to breed and lay their eggs. Then, our Field Biologists jump in to collect these eggs. This allows the eggs to hatch and grow into larvae (like tadpoles), safe from predators and weather events. Once they are past their most vulnerable life stage, they are released back into the wild.
But, the work to safeguard the future of this species is a year-round effort. Our team stays hard at work on-the-ground in Georgia and Florida to restore their habitat by removing overgrown vegetation and invasive plant species.
The frosted flatwoods salamander has experienced significant declines in their population due to loss of habitat. But they’re holding on! We’ve released thousands of headstarted salamanders back into the wild.
To learn more about headstarting and our other conservation strategies, visit our 2024 Annual Report at ARCProtects.org/2024report. Link in bio.
Photos/Videos:
1. Larval frosted flatwoods salamander, Lucas Geurs
2. Adult frosted flatwoods salamander, Jake Scott
3. Larvae release, Maddie Prickett
#ARCProtects #FrostedFlatwoodsSalamander #Amphibian #Salamander #Headstarting #Creed #OneLastBreath
@arcprotects
