Amphibian Rescue—the Amphibian Ark podcast is here!
A story that changed conservation
Amphibians have been disappearing at an unprecedented rate for decades. But for a long time, scientists did not fully understand why these declines were happening, much less how to respond to them. Some even questioned whether the declines were real. This was back in the 1980s – 1990s.
That began to change in the late 1990s. Specifically, in 1998 and 1999, researchers identified a deadly fungal pathogen affecting amphibians worldwide. As evidence mounted, scientists recognized that amphibians were facing a global extinction crisis—one that needed a fast response.
Between 2004 and 2007, the global conservation and herpetological communities began coordinating an international response. The creation of Amphibian Ark was one important part of that effort.
While conservation actions in the wild are essential, emerging diseases and climate change pose unique threats to amphibians—threats that even protected areas cannot always mitigate. In some cases, preventing extinction requires temporarily bringing species into human care.
Conservation breeding involves raising threatened species in zoos, aquariums, and other specialized facilities to create “insurance populations”. These populations safeguard species while threats in the wild are addressed, with the ultimate goal of returning them to safe habitats in the future.
Once scientists recognized that conservation breeding would be an essential component of the amphibian crisis response, the idea for Amphibian Ark began to take shape.
Now, nearly 20 years later, the amphibian crisis is far from over. But much has been accomplished. Species have been rescued from the brink, conservation programs have been established around the world, and many dedicated people continue working every day to prevent amphibian extinctions.
And now, we want to share these stories with you.
20 years of Amphibian Ark
In celebration of the first 20 years of Amphibian Ark, we are launching Amphibian Rescue, a new podcast dedicated to exploring the global response to the amphibian extinction crisis—and the role that ex situ conservation is playing in giving amphibians a second chance.
Because the podcast will be released monthly, we wanted to make sure you wouldn’t have to wait long for the next story. So we are launching with not one, but three episodes on day one!
The first episode of Amphibian Rescue revisits the early days of the crisis: how scientists began noticing amphibians disappearing around the world, how a deadly fungal disease spread across continents, and how conservationists realized that protecting species in the wild would sometimes not be enough. Joining us to share his side of this moment in conservation history is renowned herpetologist, Dr. Joe Mendelson. Listen to Episode 1 here.
From this urgent need emerged Amphibian Ark in 2006-2007, created to coordinate emergency conservation breeding programs and support institutions around the world working to safeguard species at immediate risk of extinction. In episode 2, Dr. Bob Lacy and Dr. Onnie Byers recall how the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group of the IUCN SSC (today the Conservation Planning Specialist Group), brought together the ex situ community to respond to this unprecedented crisis in a way that was new to conservation. Listen to how Amphibian Ark came to be in Episode 2 here.
And in episode 3, we talk with Dr. Bob Lacy and Jonathan Wilcken, Amphibian Ark’s Executive Director, to better understand what conservation breeding is and how exactly Amphibian Ark works to rescue amphibians in crisis. Listen to Episode 3 here.
Stories from the front lines of amphibian conservation breeding
Through conversations with conservationists, researchers, and institutions around the world, Amphibian Rescue shares real stories of species rescue, conservation breeding, and reintroduction.
Future episodes will highlight projects that are already bringing amphibians back from the brink—demonstrating how ex situ conservation, training, and global collaboration are helping prevent extinctions and buy time while threats in the wild are addressed.
New episodes will follow monthly!
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About the podcast
Amphibian Rescue is produced and hosted by María Braeuner, with original music by Pablo Bolaños | Biota Specimens.
Episodes are reviewed and fact-checked by the Amphibian Ark team of experts: Luis Carrillo, Devin Edmonds, Renata Ibelli Vaz, Jonathan Wilcken, Cybele Lisboa, Elizabeth Townsend, María José Chang, and Beatriz Velásquez.
Trailer video footage by © Jaime Culebras; additional clips via © Canva.com by Leo Lee, Black Box, Atelopus | Getty Images, Daniel Bahrmann | Pixabay.
Cover image © Jaime Culebras
The podcast is made possible thanks to the continued support of Amphibian Ark donors and partners around the world.
Together, we can continue rescuing amphibians in crisis.
Transcript
[00:00:00] Welcome to Amphibian Rescue, the Amphibian Ark Podcast. Around the world, amphibians are disappearing. For decades, conservationists have fought to protect them in the wild, but sometimes saving species in the wild is simply not possible. When threats are moving too fast or too unpredictably, like emerging diseases or climate change,
[00:00:30] we need alternatives, and that's where Amphibian Ark comes in. Amphibian Ark's mission is to rescue amphibians in crisis, especially those that cannot currently be protected in the wild, with the ultimate goal of one day returning them to their safe and restored habitats. I am your host, María Braeuner, and I invite you to join me as we share these inspiring stories of how ex situ conservation, collaboration, and science are already giving amphibians a second chance
[00:01:00] and a future back in the wild. This is Amphibian Rescue, the Amphibian Ark podcast, hosted by María Braeuner, with original music by Pablo Bolaños from Biota Specimens. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!
