Back From The Brink Of Extinction, Chilean Frogs Begin Journey Home

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Sandwiched between wet towels in temperature-monitored containers, a dozen critically endangered Loa water frogs were flown from Santiago to Calama earlier this month, the first step conservationists have taken to return the amphibians to their natural habitat in a river that runs through the world's driest desert.

The frogs were on the verge of extinction in 2019 after water extraction from mining, agriculture and development, exacerbated by climate change, decimated their habitat.

Scientists were able to rescue the remaining malnourished and sickly frogs, relocating 60 and transporting 14 to the Parquemet Zoo in Santiago for reproduction.

Once there, Osvaldo Cabeza, a herpetologist, led a successful reproduction campaign, reaching a peak of 500 individuals. Now, he wants to help bring them back to their environment.

"If we do not recover this habitat, it is very likely that the frogs will become extinct in the wild and will only exist in laboratories," Cabeza said, adding that different sectors need to come together to restore the habitat.

"It's important to make joint efforts to recover (the frog's) environment."

To do that, state-run copper giant Codelco and the local government created and recently inaugurated El Loa Biodiversity and Conservation Center (CENByC) in northern Calama.

"The frog is a survivor. It has proven to be quite resilient to all the adverse conditions it has been exposed to," said Francisca Oliva, the center's coordinator. "So my way of looking at this project in the future is quite hopeful."

At the new center, scientists hope to support the frogs and encourage reproduction. In the future, they want to bring them back to their natural habitat. For now, the government established a new protected zone in Calama and aims to work with companies and citizens to clean and protect the damaged habitat.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Gutierrez; Writing by Fabian Cambero; Editing by Alexander Villegas and Aurora Ellis)