ABOVE: Atelopus aryescue
FUNDACIÓN ATELOPUS
Biologists have documented the presence of a critically endangered toad for the first time since 1991 with the help of indigenous people who are working to protect the animal and its habitat, according to a press release from Global Wildlife Conservation.
The starry night harlequin toad (Atelopus aryescue) is only found in one part of the world: the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range in Colombia. This area is sacred to local Arhuaco people in the community of Sogrome who consider the black-and-white spotted amphibian to be a guardian of water and symbol of fertility.
Scientists haven’t seen this toad in the wild for decades due to its rarity and remote habitat, but earlier this year, members of the Sogrome community allowed members of the Colombian conservation nonprofit Fundación Atelopus to make an eight-hour hike to observe the animal in April 2019. On a second ...
