RapportFondation 2025 V02 EN light - Flipbook - Page 32
Protect & RESTORE
2024 REPORT
WALLONIA
RE-ESTABLISHING
the yellow-bellied toad & the European tree frog
IN OUR REGIONS
AMOUNT COMMITTED TO DATE: €27,805 –
WE CONTRIBUTE THROUGH TIME-INVESTMENT OF OUR TEAMS.
2016 > PRESENT
The yellow-bellied toad and the European tree
frog are two endangered species of amphibians
in Wallonia. The yellow-bellied toad, recognisable by its black-spotted yellow underside and
heart-shaped pupils, almost disappeared in the
1980s, when urbanisation led to a decline in the
number of natural ponds. Natagora launched
a reintroduction programme, which Pairi Daiza
and its Foundation have been involved with
since 2016. The European tree frog, identifiable
by its bright green colour and the suction cups
on its toes, also disappeared from Wallonia
in the late 1980s due to the scarcity of ponds
and hedges.
Our teams of zookeepers look after the tadpoles,
which are released into protected sites after their
metamorphosis.
AIM OF THE PROGRAMME:
TO RESTORE STABLE POPULATIONS OF YELLOW-BELLIED TOADS AND EUROPEAN TREE FROGS
IN WALLONIA.
RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE PROJECT:
575 EUROPEAN TREE FROGS WERE BRED AT PAIRI DAIZA BEFORE BEING RELEASED INTO THEIR
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IN WALLONIA. 713 YELLOW-BELLIED TOADS WERE ALSO BRED AT
THE ZOO AND WERE REINTRODUCED INTO THE SAINT-MICHEL-FREYR FOREST. BEFORE BEING
RELEASED, EACH ONE WAS PHOTOGRAPHED AND IDENTIFIED BY THE UNIQUE PATTERN ON ITS
UNDERSIDE, A NATURAL “IDENTITY CARD”.
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