She might only be the size of a 10-cent piece, but Melbourne Zoo's Southern Corroboree Frog, Jagumba, can be credited with the survival of her species.
The Zoo's reptiles team will celebrate Jagumba's breeding milestones on Wednesday as part of World Frog Day as they prepare to release more than 1000 eggs of the critically-endangered species into the wild.
Amphibian specialist Damian Goodall said Jagumba was collected from Mount Kosciuszko in 1999 as an egg, and had been actively contributing to the breeding program since 2001.
"She came to us in 2001 and was the first female Corroboree frog that we kept here in captivity at Melbourne Zoo," he said.
"This year, she will be 20 years old and is still one of our most important breeding females.
"It is pretty amazing for a frog to reach that age and still laying viable clutches of eggs every year."
The tiny and brilliantly-coloured Southern Corroboree Frog is an Australian icon.
Restricted to the Snowy Mountains region of Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales, the key threat driving this species towards extinction is disease.
Mr Goodall said the Southern Corroboree Frog is considered to be one of Australia's most endangered frog species. But hope is not lost for this vibrant amphibian.
"So far we've had a successful season, producing over 1000 fertile eggs," he said.
Since the recovery program commenced, Melbourne Zoo has released over 5000 eggs back into the wild.
Australian Associated Press
