A rare frog only found in sub-tropical forests in Mexico has been successfully bred at a wildlife park near Swindon. 

Cotswold Wildlife Park, in Burford, which is just over thirty minutes away from the town by car, is celebrating a 'park first' after the arrival of Baby Giant Mexican Leaf Frogs.

According to the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS), Cotswold Wildlife Park is the only zoological collection in the world to have successfully bred Mexican Leaf Frogs in the last twelve months.

And it has become only the second collection in history to have achieved success in breeding these rare amphibians.

Keepers had to carefully recreate conditions to mimic the dry forests of Mexico, where this species originates.

Their dedication paid off as reptile keeper Meg Howard explains: “This is a great success for our team and a first for this species at the Park.

"For me, the best moments were discovering the first big clump of frogspawn and seeing it start to develop within just 24 hours, and then to see the first froglet climbing out of the water."

Curator of Cotswold Wildlife Park, Jamie Craig, added: “We treat the rearing of any amphibian to adulthood as a success. The metamorphosing stages can be very tricky and we are delighted to have had success with our Mexican Leaf Frogs”.

The froglets are currently under the watchful eye of the dedicated Reptile team. At this delicate stage of their development, the new arrivals will remain off-show in the specialist Amphibian Breeding Room, but visitors can see the adults in their exhibit adjacent to the Yellow Mongoose.

These new additions at Cotswold Wildlife Park are just one of the many breeding successes the Reptile team are currently celebrating.

No sooner had the last Mexican Leaf Frog tadpole completed its metamorphosis into a froglet when keepers discovered that the Park’s Mossy Frogs, Cinnamon Frogs and Poison Dart Frogs had also produced eggs. These are under the expert care of the team in the off-show breeding room.

On April 28 each year, the worldwide campaign ‘Save The Frogs Day’ takes place.

Now in its 24th year, its aim is to raise awareness of the rapid disappearance of frog species globally and share the knowledge needed to protect amphibians from extinction. April is also National Frog Month.