Fort Worth Zoo gives nature a helping hand

[TexasStooge]

By Peyton D. Woodson , StarTelegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH, Texas - More than 2,000 Puerto Rican crested toad tadpoles from the Fort Worth Zoo have been flown south to join their American and Canadian cousins in an effort to preserve the species in its native habitat.

The toads, known for their pebbled skin and marble gold eyes, were thought to be extinct until the 1970s. The amphibians are now classified as "threatened" and have been the subject of a 20-year captive breeding program conducted by North American zoos and aquariums.