Six western toads raised at the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium have been released into the wild in southern Utah.
The aquarium’s freshwater team hatched and raised them, taking them from tadpoles to healthy adults in a little over a year, and released them in partnership with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources in 2025.
Why western toads need the help
Western toad numbers have dropped steeply, pushed down by habitat loss and by disease. The main culprit is chytrid fungus, which has cut through amphibian populations worldwide.
The release site was picked because it already holds a western toad population, which gives the new arrivals the best chance of integrating rather than starting over alone. The aquarium expects them to strengthen and diversify what is already there.
Tagged and tracked
Each toad received a small PIT tag under the skin carrying an individual number before release, so surveyors can identify them later.
Division of Wildlife Resources staff have been back to the site since and reported seeing several of the aquarium’s toads settling in.
The aquarium plans to continue its western toad breeding program and is looking at extending the same approach to other species.
