‘Miracle’ as London Zoo welcomes 15 critically endangered baby frogs

Staff at London Zoo are celebrating a world first – the birth of 15 critically endangered Afia Birago’s puddle frogs at London Zoo.

It is the first time the species has successfully bred under human care anywhere in the world.

The tiny froglets, currently measuring about 5mm long, represent a significant milestone in efforts by the Zoological Society of London and its Ghanaian partners to save one of the world’s smallest and rarest amphibians from extinction.

The births follow the arrival of 20 adult frogs from Ghana last year as part of an emergency conservation programme involving ZSL, Herp Conservation Ghana and the CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana.

Ben Tapley, ZSL’s curator of reptiles and amphibians, said: ‘They may be tiny enough to sit on your fingertip, but their arrival represents a huge step forward for an amphibian facing an uncertain future.’

Afia Birago’s puddle frog (Phrynobatrachus afiabirago) was identified as a new species only eight years ago.

It has since been found to survive in just two permanent pools in Ghana’s Atewa Hills Forest Reserve.

Its habitat is being destroyed by mining, raising fears that the species, which is found nowhere else in the world, could disappear before its conservation needs are fully understood.

An emergency action plan was established in September 2025 as the frogs faced an imminent risk of extinction.

With limited experience of caring for the species in captivity and difficulties sourcing equipment locally, conservationists decided to transfer 20 frogs to London Zoo, where specialists could develop the knowledge and techniques needed to support their survival.

Unnar Aevarsson, an amphibian keeper at ZSL, said: ‘When the adult frogs arrived in London last year, almost nothing was known about them. Using our extensive experience caring for amphibians, our team have since learned so much more about these incredible frogs – developing the knowledge, techniques and breeding protocols needed to give them the best chance of survival.

‘These 5mm long froglets are cause for celebration, but our work to save Afia Birago’s puddle frog has only just begun: the wider goal now is for our partners to establish sustainable conservation populations in Ghana that can support their recovery in the wild – these births make that a real possibility.’

Before the adult frogs arrived in the UK, Aevarsson travelled to Ghana to help establish a conservation breeding facility in Kumasi, described by ZSL as the first dedicated to amphibian conservation in West Africa.

He also gathered information about the frogs’ natural environment to help create suitable conditions for them at London Zoo.

Caleb Ofori-Boateng, an award-winning Ghanaian conservationist and ZSL EDGE regional project manager who helped describe the species and named it after his mother, said: ‘I named this frog after my mother so that her legacy would live on. Thanks to this breeding programme, it will. Her name will be linked to a species we saved, not one we lost.’

Dr Kwame Antwi Oduro, director of the CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, said: ‘Protecting the species that live in Ghana’s forests is central to our mandate. This collaboration with ZSL shows what science and partnership can achieve together, and it is building the skills and facilities Ghana needs to safeguard its own threatened wildlife.’

Visitors to London Zoo can see the conservation programme at Secret Life of Reptiles and Amphibians, where the frogs are being cared for by specialist keepers.

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