Almost 600 California red-legged frog tadpoles, hatched and raised by Aquarium of the Pacific biologists, are now swimming free in streams located in the Santa Monica Mountains, marking a hopeful milestone for a species once thought to be extinct in the area.
The tadpoles were rescued in March 2025 as part of an emergency response to extreme late-winter storms that disrupted fragile red-legged frog egg masses laid in streams and ponds throughout the mountains. National Park Service (NPS) biologists collected the vulnerable eggs and transported them to the non-profit Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, where staff hatched and nurtured them into healthy tadpoles over the spring.
This collaboration between the aquarium and NPS is the latest effort in a decade-long mission to reestablish self-sustaining populations of California red-legged frogs (Rana draytonii), a federally threatened species under the Endangered Species Act and a state Species of Special Concern.
“We are so proud to be able to support the National Park Service in their work to help local populations of California red-legged frogs. Our partners dedicate so much time and expertise to supporting these local species, and it’s incredibly meaningful to be able to play a role in the important work that they do,” said Erin Lundy, Aquarium of the Pacific manager of conservation initiatives.
This summer, NPS biologists will monitor the release sites to track the development of the tadpoles into froglets and evaluate the success of the intervention. Once common throughout California, the last known red-legged frogs in the Santa Monica Mountains were documented in the 1970s. Reintroduction efforts began in 2014, and biologists are now cautiously optimistic that these young froglets could help tip the scales toward recovery.
