@fotawildlife: As part of a joint project between Fota Wildlife Park, Oceanworld Dingle and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, staff from NPWS collect toad spawn and tadpoles from ponds in the wild, where mortality rates can be as high as 90%. They transport them to Fota where they are carefully looked after in special holding tanks over the summer months. Following metamorphosis, the resulting toadlets are then returned to the species’ native range in Kerry. This week the last of the toadlets headstarted in Fota Wildlife Park this year were released back to the wild after another successful season. Joined by members of the NPWS and Maharees Conservation Association, our Natives Species Officer, Jess released these toadlets to the natural habitat. These headstarting projects aim to enhance the survival prospects of the species and prevent its further decline. The natterjack toad is considered to be endangered in Ireland, and are protected under the EU Habitats Directive, and the Irish Wildlife Act. The main driver of this species decline in Ireland is habitat loss, as a result of coastal erosion, land-use changes, and agricultural intensification. Climate change is affecting temperature and rainfall patterns, and because of this, the shallow ponds that the toads breed in are drying up too early for the toadlets to survive. #ConservationInAction #CollaborativeConservation

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Friday 14 August 2026 10:16:58 GMT