A rare toad species has resurfaced at the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas for the first time since approximately 1962, according to conservationists at the refuge.
The newly found Woodhouse’s Toad is a male, which the preserve calls a “possible early colonist” who seems to be looking for love.
It was caught on camera performing a mating call in the Cienega area of the preserve.
“Our trail camera caught this lone adult male calling in the Cienega, possibly an early colonist… though no females have answered yet,” said the preserve in a Facebook post.
“This appearance by our forlorn frog friend marks a big moment in local wildlife history.”
Woodhouse’s Toads have not been recorded at the site since the original springs — a natural oasis, or “Cienaga,” for early settlers in Las Vegas — ran dry in 1962, when the toads were displaced or hybridized with Arizona Toads elsewhere in the Las Vegas Valley.
The hybrid Arizona-Woodhouse’s toads replaced the species entirely in about 1976, making the recent discovery the first recorded appearance of the Woodhouse’s Toad in almost 65 years.
One Facebook user claims that there’s hundreds of Woodhouse’s Toads in her yard every spring.
“I’ve had them emerge and hop through my yard to get to the pond every spring,” she wrote.
“If they’re not hanging in the wetlands there’s something wrong with the ecology, lol. They’re thriving over here.”
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