FORT WORTH, Texas — A small frog featured in Bad Bunny’s new music video is quite familiar to conservation teams at the Fort Worth Zoo.
The zoo and its partners play a key role in the conservation of the critically endangered species, the Puerto Rican crested toad (PRCT), also known as Sapo Concho.
The toad species is native to Puerto Rico. Earlier this month, Puerto Rico native Bad Bunny released a short film to accompany his latest album, “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” which features an animated Sapo Concho.
Because of destructive habitat alteration, fragmentation and rising sea level, the toad is now only found in Puerto Rico’s Guanica Commonwealth Forest.
“Reptile and amphibian species often become overshadowed when compared to some of the more ‘charismatic’ species like elephants and manatees and it is difficult to compete for limited resources and support needed for their conservation,” said Fort Worth Zoo’s Senior Curator of Ectotherms Diane Barber. “It’s pretty incredible to have someone like Bad Bunny, with the platform that he has, to raise awareness about this little toad and find a commonality to connect people to the toad and their natural surroundings.”
The Fort Worth Zoo first became involved with the toad’s conservation efforts in 1984, and in 1989, the zoo’s breeding and reintroduction efforts began. Barber works closely with partners from the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Puerto Rican Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER) to implement conservation initiatives.
As part of the zoo’s critical conservation work with this toad, breeding and reintroduction efforts happen annually to reestablish self-sustaining populations in its natural habitat. It is the longest continuous reintroduction program for any amphibian species in the world.
The reintroduction program is the key to the toad’s survival. Without establishing new populations in protected areas, there is little chance of long-term survival for the toad.
The toad is considered an “indicator species,” meaning when population numbers of one species decline, it indicates that the balance in the ecosystem is off and declines in other species may follow.
