It s estimated that there are less than 50 mountain chicken frogs left in the wild.
The Akron Zoo announced on its website that Dominic, one of the oldest mountain chicken frogs in the world, has died two months shy of his 19th birthday. The senior frog lived nearly seven years longer than the average life expectancy of this species, which is 12 years. Dominic came to the Akron zoo via the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium where he was born June 12, 2004. He arrived at the Akron Zoo in 2005.
According to the zoo, Dominic’s health had started to decline, with staff helping the amphibian eat over the last several months. His vision was lost due to cataracts and his conditioned worsened to the point that the zoo decided it best to humanely euthanize him.
Video: 51 Captive-Bred Mountain Chicken Frogs Released On Montserrat Island
“Dominic’s age was a true testament to the mission here at the Akron Zoo,” Doug Piekarz, president and CEO at the Akron Zoo said in a statement on the zoo’s website. “We provide exceptional care for every animal – big or small, furry or scaly – and those animals are able to connect our guests to wildlife and inspire lifelong learning. Dominic was no exception. Guests, adults and children alike, loved to see the ‘really big frog’ who was always there to greet them as they entered Komodo Kingdom.”
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Mountain Chicken Frog Information
The mountain chicken frog (Leptodactylus fallax) is on the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered. The amphibian gets its name for tasting like chicken. It is from the Lesser Antilles Caribbean (Montserrat and Dominica) islands. Adult mountain chicken frogs can weigh close to 2.5 pounds. Unlike most other frogs, the mountain chicken frog breeds in burrows. It has suffered 80 percent declines since 1995 due to hunting for food, habitat loss, natural disasters and the ravages of the chytrid fungus.
