U.S. lab helps tiny African toad survive

SYRACUSE, N.Y., July 19 (UPI) -- A tiny toad species that went extinct in its native Tanzania almost as soon as it was discovered is thriving at a U,S, university laboratory, researchers say.

Scientists at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, N.Y., are rearing Kihansi spray toads in an effort to find ways to safely reintroduce the animals to the Kihansi River Gorge in southeastern Tanzania, a SUNY release said Tuesday.

The Kihansi toad, not much more than an inch long, was discovered in 1996 during the construction of a dam on the Kihansi River. A population of the toads was found living near the bottom of a 3,000-foot waterfall in a nearly vertical wetland created by the spray coming off the pounding water.

"They have never been seen anywhere else," said SUNY biologist James Gibbs. "It might be the four-legged vertebrate species with the smallest range in the world."

Construction of the dam resulted in reduced spray in the toads' habitat and their numbers quickly declined, with a few survivors brought to U.S. zoos and schools to reproduce. After dwindling to just 50 individuals, the captive population has rebounded.

"This is a species that's extinct in the wild but it's right here in Syracuse," Gibbs said. "This species, without the help of captive breeding, will go extinct. It's part of the natural heritage of Tanzania."