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[frogs and forest sounds]
THIS IS WHERE MANY FROGS AND TOADS MEET
EVERY BREEDING SEASON, POND NUMBER 2.
AND IT'S WHERE DR. MICHAEL FORSTNER AND HIS STUDENTS
DO MOST OF THEIR RESEARCH ON THE ENDANGERED HOUSTON TOAD,
NOW ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION.
So the Houston toad used to occur from Houston
to where we are now in Bastrop.
They’re gone from Harris, Fort Bend and Liberty.
And in the last 50 years, we’ve lost almost all of that habitat.
[toad call]
AND AS THE LOSS OF HABITAT CONTINUES, ESTIMATES ARE
THAT THERE ARE LESS THAN 2000 HOUSTON TOADS LEFT.
Look, there he is right there. I got him, I got him, I got him!
There's that speckled belly and that dark black throat.
[toad call]
WITH NO FEMALES TO MATE WITH, THE OUTLOOK FOR HOUSTON TOADS
HERE AT POND NUMBER 2 ISN'T GOOD.
So it’s the unicorn in the woods.
I mean this is the thing that no one can find.
And yet at the same time,
this is an animal that makes 3,000 eggs at a time.
3000!
TO CAPITALIZE ON ALL THOSE EGGS,
THE HOUSTON ZOO HAS STARTED A NURSERY OF SORTS.
Yeah, it's a female.
We’re starting to form a captive assurance colony
basically, and that is like a fail safe against
the extinction of the Houston toad in the wild.
THE ZOO TOOK EGGS FROM THAT SAME POND NO. 2
AND SPENT OVER A YEAR RAISING 3000 TADPOLES,
FEEDING THEM 6000 CRICKETS A WEEK.
THEN IT'S BACK TO POND NO. 2 IN BASTROP.
63.4
This is an investment of 3 years of effort,
2 years of planning, and a year of implementation.
Alright, we're ready. We're going right around the corner...
Babies don’t do well in the wild.
Adults have a better chance of survival
and there’s a better chance
that they could reproduce this year.
Don't run from him!
THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE TO TRY AND GET HOUSTON TOADS
TO MATE THIS YEAR.
AND SOON AFTER THE TOADS ARE RELEASED,
THE CALLS COMMENCE.
Hear it? [toad calls]
It's at least 3 males.
[toad calls]
Our guys calling,
you can hear our head starting males calling.
It's fantastic.
This is the whole point.
That hold that he has on her is called amplyexis.
And it is the mating posture for the Houston Toad.
And that event all by itself is rare enough
to have made coming out tonight worth all of the effort.
THIS FINAL ACT MAY BE A SUCCESS,
BUT IT'S ALSO A SIGN OF HOW CLOSE WE ARE
TO LOSING THE HOUSTON TOAD FOREVER.
Having to release Houston toads that we’ve head started
is both good and bad in my mind. It is very good because
we’re actively participating in recovery.
But it’s bad because in some ways it means
it has gotten remarkably serious in the wild
within its last holdout, within the last place
the Houston toads are doing well.
Even here, we’re having to intervene.
For Texas Parks & Wildlife, this is Lydia Saldaña.