Rare tadpoles, bred at Como Zoo, to be released in Wyoming

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Como Zoo announced it bred and shipped nearly 3,300 rare tadpoles to the state of Wyoming to be released back into the wild in an effort to preserve the species. 

The Wyoming Toad tadpoles are some of the world’s rarest toads and are classified as extinct in the wild because they do not have a self-sustaining population. 

The toads are native to the Laramie Basin. They were placed on the endangered species list in 1984. In the late 1980s, the last remaining toads were discovered near Mortenson Lake and by 1996, a plan had been put in place to help preserve the species.

The Como Zoo's tadpoles will be released near the Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge outside Laramie, Wyoming. 

In addition to the tadpoles it sent Monday night, the zoo will also have an additional 288 tadpoles it will allow to morph into frogs to be released in Wyoming at a later date. Sixty more tadpoles will be raised at the zoo for future breeding.

The Como Zoo has since joined seven other breeding facilities that helps reintroduce Wyoming toads to the wild.