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Mount Ballow Mountain Frog (Philoria knowlesi)

The Mount Ballow mountain frog is a very small, recently recognised frog restricted to high altitude wet forests in south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales. It depends on wet headwater seeps, small bogs and stream banks for breeding, so clearing, altered drainage, fire, drought, feral pigs and disease can affect both occupied habitat and nearby potential habitat on development sites.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Endangered.

Queensland, Nature Conservation Act 1992: Endangered.

Breeding season

Mount Ballow Mountain Frogs breed in spring and early summer, using wet chambers and nests in bogs, seepages and headwater stream margins. Plan clearing, drainage and dewatering to avoid September to February, when breeding, eggs, developing young and recently emerged frogs may be present.

Reproductive mode: Egg laying in a foamy nest. Tadpoles develop within the breeding chamber or nest.

Clutch size: About 40 eggs were recorded in one nest.

Incubation or gestation: Not recorded.

Size at hatching or birth: Not recorded.

Age at maturity: Not recorded. Individuals raised from eggs in the genus were still not sexually mature at three years of age.

Nest or egg sites: Small bogs, seepages and banks of headwater streams. Nests occur in seepy headwaters and may be in moist hollows or mud chambers beneath rocks, rotten wood, moss, logs or leaf litter.

Breeding frequency: Not recorded.

Confirm timing locally before works, because rainfall and temperature control moisture availability and breeding activity, and altitude and local weather may shift the spring to early summer window.

  • Calling: Males call during the spring and early summer breeding period. The call is a short, sharp, low “orc”; the documents do not identify a monthly peak.
  • Egg laying: Eggs are laid from spring to early summer, generally September to December in the Australian calendar. Females lay them in protective foam in wet breeding chambers or nests at bogs, seepages and headwater stream margins.
  • Tadpoles: Tadpoles remain in the breeding chamber or nest rather than developing in open water. The species sources do not give a development period, so September to December represents the documented egg laying and breeding window, not a confirmed tadpole duration.
  • Froglets: Development to a fully formed frog takes around two months in genus-level information. Applying that related Philoria timing to spring and early summer laying gives a possible emergence period from November to February, but the exact period for this species is not recorded.
  • Active period: No species-specific active or movement season is recorded. Protect rainforest, wet forest, headwaters and connecting moist habitat year round because Philoria frogs use rainforest outside breeding areas and may move between headwaters.
  • Highest clearing risk: September to December carries the highest documented risk because males occupy breeding chambers and eggs and tadpoles may be present. Risk may extend into January and February where young are completing development or emerging, and wet breeding habitat remains sensitive throughout the year.

Identification

This is a very small, poorly known mountain frog of wet upland forest. Detection is more likely by listening for calling males or locating wet breeding chambers than by finding frogs during daytime searches.

Adults have a body length of less than 30 mm in males. The back may be light brown, greenish or reddish, with either 2 to 3 large dark patches or many small light spots. The belly may be reddish, yellowish-brown or dark brown.

A black stripe runs from the snout tip to the arm. Fingers and toes are unwebbed and lack expanded tips.

Size: Adult males less than 30 mm long.

Colour: Back light brown, greenish or reddish; belly reddish, yellowish-brown or dark brown.

Key markings: Black stripe from the snout to the arm; unwebbed fingers and toes without expanded tips.

Identification: Call and sex clues

The mating call is a short, sharp, low 'orc'. Surveys and monitoring depend heavily on detecting calling males, including recording when they call, on which days and under which weather conditions.

Males construct small breeding chambers in wet areas during the mating season. Females have flanges on the first and second fingers, which help produce protective foam around the eggs.

Call: Short, sharp, low 'orc'.

Male field clue: Calling males may be found near breeding chambers in wet areas.

Female field clue: Flanges occur on the first and second fingers.

Identification: Field signs and similar frogs

The species develops in a small breeding chamber and may leave no obvious track, scat or shed skin. The supplied sources do not describe tracks, scats, eyeshine or distinctive terrestrial signs.

Other Philoria species occur in the same general mountain forest region, and the Mount Ballow mountain frog was only recognised as a distinct species in 2022. Do not identify it from habitat alone. Confirm records with an experienced amphibian ecologist, call analysis or other approved diagnostic method.

  • Treat a short, sharp, low 'orc' call from a wet upland seep as a target detection, but do not assume that every Philoria call is this species.
  • Record the exact location, date, time, weather, habitat and call direction, and avoid handling frogs unless authorised.

Distribution: Known range

The known range is confined to the Gondwana Rainforests of south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales. The available sources do not provide a confirmed population estimate, density, mapped subpopulation boundaries or a population trend for this species.

In Queensland, records extend from Mount Barney National Park west of the Gold Coast. In New South Wales, records extend to Levers Plateau and the western section of Border Ranges National Park.

The species occurs in higher altitude areas and is patchily distributed. Its habitat is separated into isolated mountain-top areas by lower altitude habitat that is generally unsuitable for these mountain frogs.

States: Queensland and New South Wales.

Known locations named in the sources: Mount Barney National Park, Levers Plateau and the western section of Border Ranges National Park.

Distribution pattern: Patchy, restricted to higher altitude wet forest areas.

Distribution: Population information

The sources do not give a national population size, local abundance, population density, number of subpopulations or confirmed trend for Philoria knowlesi.

Surveys are being used to improve knowledge of abundance, distribution, fine-scale population genetics and calling patterns. The species was officially recognised as distinct in 2022, so older records may require taxonomic review.

National population estimate: Not provided in the supplied sources.

Population trend: Not provided in the supplied sources.

Monitoring focus: Abundance, distribution, fine-scale population genetics and calling patterns.

  • Treat all suitable wet upland habitat within the known range as potentially important until targeted survey and current records show otherwise.
  • Check records against current taxonomic advice because older Philoria observations may have been assigned to another species.

Habitat: Forest and wetland setting

The Mount Ballow mountain frog occupies wet upland forest, especially rainforest and adjoining wet eucalypt forest. The defining habitat feature is persistent moisture at headwater seeps, small bogs and mountain streams.

The species is dependent on rainforest and adjacent wet sclerophyll, or wet eucalypt, forest. It occurs in higher altitude areas of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area and nearby protected areas.

Known breeding settings include small bogs, seepages and banks of headwater streams. These sites may be small and isolated within otherwise unsuitable forest.

Broad habitat: Upland rainforest and adjacent wet eucalypt forest.

Wet features: Small bogs, seepages and headwater stream banks.

Topographic setting: Higher altitude mountain areas and isolated mountain-top habitat.

Habitat: Features to retain

Retain wet ground, saturated seepage lines, bog vegetation, headwater channels, stream banks and the surrounding forest that maintains shade and moisture.

Avoid activities that interrupt surface or subsurface water movement into breeding seeps. The supplied sources identify reliance on saturated seeps and sensitivity to drought, but do not provide a species-specific buffer distance.

  • Map all seepages, bogs, headwater streams and wet forest before clearing or access works.
  • Keep machinery, spoil, sediment, concrete washout, fuels and other pollutants away from wet areas and stream banks.
  • Use site-specific ecological advice to set exclusion zones because no numeric habitat buffer is provided in the sources.

Habitat: Climate and fire setting

Frogs need moisture to breed and are sensitive to environmental temperature changes. Warmer and drier conditions may make isolated high altitude habitat unsuitable.

Black Summer fires directly affected critical habitat for rainforest frogs, including the Mount Ballow mountain frog. Fire in adjoining wet eucalypt forest can also threaten rainforest seep habitat.

Climate sensitivity: Sensitive to reduced moisture and environmental temperature change.

Fire context: Critical habitat was affected by the 2019 to 2020 Black Summer bushfires.

Foraging habitat: Available evidence

The supplied sources do not state the Mount Ballow mountain frog's diet, prey species, feeding period or foraging distance. Avoid importing diet information from other frog species when assessing habitat for this species.

No species-specific information is provided on prey, food plants, feeding technique, feeding height, home range or foraging radius.

As a small wet-forest frog, it should be assessed in relation to the connected wet forest around breeding seeps, not only the visibly wet chamber or stream edge. This is a general field practice for this habitat group, rather than a measured species-specific foraging requirement.

Diet: Not provided in the supplied sources.

Foraging range: Not provided in the supplied sources.

Foraging period: Not provided in the supplied sources.

  • Retain connected moist ground cover and forest around known or potential breeding seeps.
  • Do not use absence of frogs during daytime searches as evidence that surrounding wet forest is not used.
  • If works may affect wet forest beyond the breeding chamber, obtain a species-specific assessment and define survey and exclusion areas from local records.

Breeding habitat: Breeding facts

Breeding occurs in wet upland microhabitats where males construct small chambers and tadpoles complete development within them. The sources provide a breeding season and nesting details, but not clutch size, incubation period, maturity age or lifespan.

Breeding season: Spring and early summer.

Breeding site: Small bogs, seepages and banks of headwater streams.

Nest or chamber: Males create a small breeding chamber in a wet area; the chambers are also described as small tunnels or nesting chambers in mud beside headwater mountain soaks.

Egg protection: Females use flanges on the first and second fingers to froth protective foam around the eggs.

Tadpole development: Tadpoles develop entirely within the breeding chamber.

Clutch size: Not provided in the supplied sources.

Incubation period: Not provided in the supplied sources.

Age at maturity: Not provided in the supplied sources.

Lifespan: Not provided in the supplied sources.

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat protection

Breeding depends on saturated seeps and wet ground. Drought reduces breeding attempts in closely related Gondwana Rainforest mountain frogs because they rely on saturated seeps for nests. This supports treating hydrology as a breeding constraint for Mount Ballow mountain frog habitat, while recognising that the supplied source does not quantify the effect for this species.

Feral pigs can destroy breeding chambers and alter the wet ground around them. Sediment, drainage works, trampling and changes to runoff may also damage the small wet sites used for nesting.

  • Search wet bogs, seepages, headwater banks and muddy margins for chambers before ground disturbance.
  • Keep construction traffic and pedestrian access out of seepage and headwater breeding areas.
  • Prevent diversion, concentration or interception of water feeding occupied or potential breeding sites.
  • Schedule unavoidable works outside the spring and early summer breeding period where practicable, and obtain project-specific advice if this is not possible.

Sheltering habitat: Known refuges

The species uses wet forest and small wet chambers associated with seepages and headwater streams. The available sources do not describe separate non-breeding shelters, burrows, refuge dimensions or seasonal dormancy.

Males construct small tunnel or nesting chambers in mud beside headwater mountain soaks. These chambers are used for breeding and tadpole development.

The surrounding rainforest, wet eucalypt forest, saturated ground, stream banks and dense wet vegetation are likely to provide cover, but the supplied sources do not identify particular shelter structures or measure their dimensions.

Known chamber setting: Mud beside headwater mountain soaks, wet bogs, seepages and stream banks.

Chamber size: Not provided in the supplied sources.

Other shelter types: Not specified in the supplied sources.

  • Treat mud chambers, seep margins, wet stream banks and adjacent moist ground as potential shelter habitat.
  • Do not disturb, fill, collapse or trample chambers, seepage margins or stream-bank cover.
  • Inspect by a qualified amphibian ecologist before clearing, excavation, access creation or bank works in suitable wet habitat.

Sheltering habitat: Handling and hygiene

Frogs and their eggs or tadpoles should not be handled or removed unless authorised. Amphibian chytrid fungus is a recognised threat to Australian frogs, so equipment and footwear should be cleaned and disinfected between wet sites in line with current hygiene protocols.

  • Clean boots, survey equipment and other gear before entering another wet site.
  • Do not move water, sediment, frogs, eggs or tadpoles between sites.
  • Keep pollutants such as soap, detergent, sunscreen, insect repellent and fuels out of creeks and seepages.

Threats: Clearing and construction

The main risks are loss and fragmentation of wet upland forest, damage to seep and headwater hydrology, fire and drought, feral pigs, invasive weeds, climate change and amphibian disease. The species has a narrow distribution, so impacts at individual mountain sites may affect an important part of its range.

Clearing rainforest, wet eucalypt forest, bogs, seepages or headwater banks can remove breeding and shelter habitat. Fragmentation can isolate mountain-top habitat and reduce continuity between wet sites.

Roads, tracks, trenching, drainage, culverts, spoil placement and water diversion can damage small breeding chambers or change the moisture regime. The supplied sources do not provide a species-specific road avoidance distance or habitat buffer.

  • Complete targeted wet-season and breeding-season surveys before clearing in suitable upland habitat.
  • Fence and clearly mark seepages, bogs, headwater banks and known chambers before works start.
  • Keep sediment, spoil, machinery and construction compounds away from wet habitat and ensure runoff does not enter seepages or streams.
  • Treat unrecorded suitable habitat as potentially occupied where survey conditions were poor or access was incomplete.

Threats: Fire, drought and climate

The 2019 to 2020 Black Summer fires damaged critical rainforest frog habitat. Warmer temperatures, drought and variable rainfall reduce moisture available for breeding and may make isolated high altitude habitat unsuitable.

Fire management in adjoining wet eucalypt forest can affect the risk of fire entering rainforest seep habitat. Invasive weeds may increase flammability around rainforest edges.

  • Avoid unplanned fire, hot works and slash accumulation near rainforest, seepage and headwater habitat.
  • Manage fire risk in adjoining vegetation without burning occupied wet breeding habitat unless supported by a species-specific conservation plan.
  • Maintain natural water retention and avoid drainage changes that could worsen drought effects at seepages.

Threats: Animals, weeds and disease

Feral pigs can prey on frogs and destroy wet breeding chambers. Weeds can alter habitat and increase fire risk. Amphibian chytrid fungus can cause severe mortality in Australian frog populations and is a recognised threat to Gondwana Rainforest mountain frogs.

Works can spread pathogens and weeds between isolated wet sites if footwear, vehicles and equipment are not managed.

  • Inspect work areas for feral pig activity, including tracks and disturbance around wet sites, and report sightings through the relevant land manager where requested.
  • Control invasive weeds using methods that prevent herbicide or contaminated runoff entering seepages and streams.
  • Apply amphibian hygiene procedures between sites and do not move frogs, water, mud or equipment between catchments without approval.

Survey methodology: 1. Calling surveys

Survey the Mount Ballow mountain frog in its specialised upland habitat, with priority given to wet headwater seeps, small bogs, stream banks and adjacent wet sclerophyll forest. The supplied documents do not specify a statutory survey effort, so the project ecologist must set nights, hours, transect length and repeat visits for the site, risk and approval conditions.

Target the spring and early summer breeding period, when males call from breeding chambers in wet areas.

Use experienced observers to listen for the species’ short, sharp, low “orc” call and record the date, time, weather, location and number of calling males.

Survey the full extent of suitable seepage, bog and headwater stream habitat, including areas beside the proposed disturbance and retained habitat.

Calling activity varies with time of year, day and weather conditions, so use repeat visits that cover suitable calling conditions. The supplied documents do not provide a fixed number of nights or hours.

Breeding period: Spring and early summer

Adult male size: Less than 30 mm body length

Call: Short, sharp, low “orc”

  • Record calling locations with a GPS and mark whether the call came from a seep, bog, stream bank or adjacent wet forest.
  • Do not enter or disturb breeding chambers, eggs or tadpoles while listening for calls.

Survey methodology: 2. Targeted habitat inspection

Inspect upland rainforest, adjacent wet sclerophyll forest, small bogs, seepages and banks of headwater streams before finalising the survey result.

Map all wet breeding areas and the connected moist forest that may provide shelter or movement habitat.

Treat apparently dry habitat cautiously after drought or fire, because drought reduces breeding attempts and fire can affect occupancy and abundance of calling males in mountain frogs.

Known habitat: Upland rainforest and adjacent wet eucalypt forest

Breeding sites: Small bogs, seepages and banks of headwater streams

Recorded distribution: Mount Barney National Park in Queensland to Levers Plateau and western Border Ranges National Park in New South Wales

  • Search for wet chambers, saturated ground, suitable seepage and signs of disturbance by feral pigs without excavating or damaging the habitat.
  • Record weeds, feral pig activity, fire effects, drying, erosion and barriers between suitable habitat patches.

Survey methodology: 3. Call recording and verification

Use an audio recorder or the FrogID project to document unknown or significant calls where this can be done without handling frogs.

Have an experienced amphibian ecologist verify records before relying on a call-only detection for a clearance decision.

Collect location, date, time, weather, habitat description and recording details for each detection.

  • Maintain disease hygiene between sites by cleaning boots, equipment and other field gear before entering frog habitat.
  • Do not handle frogs, eggs or tadpoles unless the person is authorised under the relevant permit and project fauna management plan.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use a qualified ecologist to document the survey design, including the number of visits, nights, hours, transect length and area searched, because the supplied documents do not state a fixed effort for this species.
  • Schedule repeat surveys across suitable spring and early summer conditions where one visit cannot adequately assess calling activity or habitat use.
  • Report Mount Ballow mountain frog records, non detections, habitat maps and survey limitations to the relevant Queensland or New South Wales wildlife records database, in accordance with the state agency’s current requirements.
  • Submit any EPBC Act referral or approval information required for the nationally listed species and retain the survey data with the project environmental records.
  • Record the scientific name, Philoria knowlesi, and distinguish the species from other Philoria mountain frogs that occur in the region.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Treat wet upland frog habitat as a high risk constraint before clearing, excavation, access formation or changes to drainage. The preferred control is to avoid breeding seeps, bogs, headwater banks and connected moist forest, then minimise any unavoidable disturbance.

  • Redesign the work to retain small bogs, seepages, headwater stream banks, wet rainforest and adjacent wet sclerophyll forest.
  • Retain connectivity between occupied or suitable seepage sites and nearby moist forest, rather than isolating individual wet patches.
  • Keep machinery, spoil, sediment, drainage works and access routes out of saturated breeding areas and stream banks.
  • Prevent new weed infestations and feral pig access because weeds increase fire risk and feral pigs can damage breeding chambers and habitat.
  • Avoid unnecessary disturbance during spring and early summer, when the species breeds.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

EPBC Act status: Endangered

Queensland status: Endangered

  • Check the EPBC Act requirements before work starts because the Mount Ballow mountain frog is listed as Endangered nationally.
  • Obtain any Queensland or New South Wales threatened species, wildlife handling, collection, relocation or rehabilitation approvals that apply to the project.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies the frog’s habitat, survey results, exclusion areas, stop work triggers, authorised handlers, hygiene controls and reporting pathway.
  • Stage work so that the smallest practicable area is opened at one time and retained habitat remains connected and protected.
  • Coordinate with the relevant state agency where works affect the cross-border range of the species.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

  • Complete the approved pre-clearance survey immediately before disturbance, with emphasis on wet seeps, bogs, headwater banks and adjacent wet forest.
  • Use survey maps and visible markers to identify no-go areas, drainage lines, breeding habitat and access routes.
  • Install exclusion fencing where it can protect seepages, stream banks and other retained habitat from machinery, people, spoil and sediment.
  • Brief all operators and spotter catchers on the frog’s small size, its low call, habitat indicators and the requirement not to handle frogs, eggs or tadpoles without authorisation.
  • Clean boots, vehicles and equipment before entering the site and between frog habitat areas to reduce the spread of amphibian pathogens and weeds.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls

Use a stop and check approach whenever work enters or approaches wet upland frog habitat. The fauna spotter catcher must have authority to pause machinery and must work within the approved fauna management plan and wildlife permits.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, drainage controls and no-go markers at the start of each shift and after heavy rain or other events that could move sediment or damage barriers.
  • Keep machinery, spoil, fuels, wash water and other pollutants away from creeks, seepages, bogs and stream banks.
  • Maintain clean boots, tools, vehicles and handling equipment throughout the work.
  • Use a spotter catcher to inspect each active work area before clearing, excavation, access movement or changes to drainage.
  • Stop work if a frog, egg mass, tadpole, breeding chamber or previously unrecorded seepage is found in or near the disturbance area.

During habitat disturbance: Spotter catcher and machinery

  • Keep the spotter catcher in direct communication with the operator and within a position that allows the operator to stop safely before entering habitat.
  • Use staged clearing and slow machinery movement near wet ground, headwater banks and retained vegetation.
  • Do not push vegetation, soil, rocks or logs into seepages, bogs or streams.
  • Do not use frog handling as a substitute for redesigning the work to avoid habitat.
  • Only an appropriately authorised person may capture, handle or relocate a frog, egg or tadpole.

During habitat disturbance: Animal finds, injury and records

  • If a Mount Ballow mountain frog is found, stop the relevant activity, keep people and machinery clear, and notify the environmental officer and project ecologist.
  • Do not handle the frog unless the handler is authorised and the action is allowed by the fauna management plan and permit.
  • If relocation is approved, move the animal only to nearby suitable retained habitat selected by the ecologist, with matching wet seepage or headwater conditions and no disease transfer risk.
  • Do not move eggs or tadpoles unless specifically authorised by the relevant wildlife agency and permit.
  • Take an injured frog to an approved wildlife carer or veterinarian through the project’s authorised wildlife response pathway.
  • Record the species, GPS location, time, activity, habitat, action taken, handler, permit details and outcome.
  • Report all incidents, relocations, injuries and stop work events to the project environmental officer and relevant approval authority.

After habitat disturbance: Completion checks

After clearing or construction, confirm that retained frog habitat remains wet, connected and free from avoidable disturbance. Keep controls in place until the environmental officer confirms that the site is stable and the approval conditions have been met.

  • Inspect the completed work area for frogs, breeding chambers, eggs, tadpoles, damaged seepages, blocked drainage and sediment movement.
  • Check that exclusion fencing, no-go markers and stream and seepage protections remain intact after demobilisation.
  • Remove spoil, waste and temporary materials from frog habitat without entering or damaging retained seeps, bogs or stream banks.
  • Document any habitat loss, drying, weed spread, feral pig damage, fire impact or change in water movement.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

  • Repeat targeted calling and habitat surveys during spring and early summer where the project affected or approached known or suitable habitat.
  • Use the same marked locations and survey conditions where practicable so changes in calling activity and habitat condition can be compared over time.
  • Report records, non detections, incidents, rehabilitation results and approval compliance to the relevant state wildlife database and project regulator.
  • Escalate unexpected frog records, habitat damage or persistent drying to the approval holder, project ecologist and relevant state agency.

After habitat disturbance: Maintain controls and offsets

  • Continue weed, feral pig, sediment and pathogen controls for the period required by the fauna management plan or approval.
  • Maintain connectivity and wet habitat protections during follow-on construction, maintenance and operational activities.
  • Where residual impacts cannot be avoided, implement any approved offset, restoration or species recovery measure required under the EPBC Act or state approval.
  • Do not treat an offset as permission to disturb occupied breeding habitat where avoidance or redesign remains practicable.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore habitat and water movement

Rehabilitation should recreate the wet, shaded conditions used by the Mount Ballow mountain frog for breeding and shelter. Prioritise seepages, small bogs, headwater banks and connected rainforest or wet sclerophyll forest, rather than treating the site as general revegetation.

  • Restore natural drainage and seepage patterns so water reaches small bogs, wet banks and headwater channels without causing erosion or prolonged sedimentation.
  • Reinstate native rainforest and wet sclerophyll vegetation appropriate to the local reference community, using locally sourced species selected by the restoration ecologist.
  • Stabilise disturbed stream banks and wet ground without filling, compacting or isolating breeding seepages.
  • Reconnect retained and restored moist forest where construction has created a barrier.

Rehabilitation actions: Control threats

  • Control weeds that invade or dry out frog habitat and remove follow-up infestations before they become established.
  • Control feral pigs and prevent access to sensitive breeding areas with approved fencing or other measures suited to the site.
  • Manage fire in neighbouring vegetation to reduce the risk of fire entering rainforest seeps, while following the relevant park and fire authority requirements.
  • Prevent amphibian pathogen spread through continued cleaning of footwear, tools and machinery used in restored habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitor success

  • Inspect restored seeps, bogs, stream banks and wet forest after rainfall and through spring and early summer.
  • Monitor water presence, vegetation recovery, weed cover, feral pig activity, fire effects and evidence of breeding chambers.
  • Use repeat call surveys and verified recordings to check whether Mount Ballow mountain frogs return to or continue using the restored area.
  • Set site specific success measures with the approval authority, because the supplied documents do not provide numeric rehabilitation targets or monitoring effort.
  • Record results in the project environmental report and provide significant detections or failures to the relevant state wildlife agency.

Rehabilitation actions: Captive breeding and translocation

  • Do not collect frogs for captive breeding, release or translocation unless the relevant agency has approved the action and the project has the required permits.
  • Where a recovery program proposes captive breeding or release, coordinate with the responsible conservation program and qualified amphibian specialists rather than undertaking an ad hoc release.
  • Use disease screening, genetic advice and post release monitoring specified by the approved program.

Sources