Frog from Dwindling Haitian Forest Thriving in U.S. Zoo

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

Out on the fingerlike peninsula of southwestern Haiti is the remote forest realm of the La Hotte bush frog—or what is left of it. “It's a very beautiful forest,” says Carlos Martinez Rivera, a conservation biologist at the Philadelphia Zoo. “It feels like going to any other tropical rain forest. But it's a very tiny patch of forest.” In recent decades Haiti has desperately cut down trees to grow crops or make charcoal. So, in 2010, the Philadelphia Zoo captured 154 frogs from nine species in those fading forests for breeding back in the U.S.

Now the zoo hosts more than 1,500 Haitian frogs, including more than 1,200 La Hotte bush frogs. “If you do have a doomsday scenario where the forest is gone, the species will still be preserved,” Martinez Rivera says.

Biology and behavior have helped the frog thrive in captivity. The females lay large clutches of eggs, which the males then guard until they hatch, freeing up the females to mate again and lay more eggs. “They're very prolific in that sense,” Martinez Rivera says.

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Thank you,

David M. Ewalt, Editor in Chief, Scientific American