The cave squeaker returns: Rare frog seen after decades

Researchers in Zimbabwe say they have found a rare frog that hasn't been seen in decades. The Arthroleptis troglodytes, below, also known as the cave squeaker because of its preferred habitat, was discovered in 1962, but there were no reported sightings of the elusive amphibian after that. Due to a lack of confirmed sightings in the five decades since then, the frog was placed in an international red list of “threatened” animal species and was thought to be extinct, if not critically endangered. Robert Hopkins, a research associate at the Natural History Museum in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, led the expedition to search for the cave squeaker, and he confirmed that there were four A. troglodytes specimens spotted in the Chimanimani Mountains, the same site of the original sighting. Robert Hopkins, a researcher with the natural history museum in Bulawayo city, said his team found the first male specimen on Dec. 3 after following an animal call that they had not heard before. The team also found discovered another two males and a female. According to Hopkins, he had spent the last eight years hunting for the cave squeaker but was not present when his colleagues spotted the animal, on account of his advanced age. These plans include breeding the frogs and increasing their number, then reintroducing them to their natural habitat in the mountains of Zimbabwe. Now authorities fear for the security of the frogs, especially as huge interest from "the scientific world" could result in the animal being captured and illegally exported. According to Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokeswoman Caroline Washaya-Moyo, local authorities have guarded against this possibility, and will “do everything in (their) power” as they work on a plan to protect the cave squeaker.
The cave squeaker (Arthroleptis troglodytes), a critically endangered species of frog, is located and captured for the first time since 1962. Scientists announce plans to breed.