Sanford zoo releases over 600 amphibians in Northern Florida

SANFORD, Fla. — The Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens helped relocate 618 striped newts in Northern Florida.

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The zoo’s Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation worked with other conservation organizations to release the threatened species.

The Apalachicola National Forest is now home to the striped newts, as it was in the early 2000s.

Over 160 of those newts were hatched and raised at the OCIC.

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The amphibians were reintroduced in an area where they disappeared.

These populations only exist in 106 ponds in Florida.

Striped newts face threats from fire, drought, cars and habitat loss.

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Sanford zoo releases over 600 amphibians in Florida Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens’ OCIC and partners released over 600 striped newts in Northern Florida to re-establish threatened species. (Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens/Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens)

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The Amphibian Foundation, the Detroit Zoo, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also participated in the release by breeding newts, which comprised some of the population released.

“This release marks a critical step in our mission to restore striped newts to their former range,” said Steven Greene, lead protected species technician at the Central Florida Zoo’s Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation. “When there are so few of a species left in the wild, every healthy animal we can restore is a win. Even animals as small as the striped newt play a vital role in the functioning of a healthy native habitat.”

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