Staff at the Vancouver Aquarium are preparing to release more than 1,600 tadpoles into the wild next week in an effort to bring B.C.'s most endangered amphibian back from the brink of extinction.
The aquarium raised the northern leopard frog tadpoles as part of its Ocean Wise initiative.
This is the seventh consecutive breeding year for the conservation program aimed at boosting the species' presence in the province.
"Sadly, they're not out of the danger zone yet, but that’s the hope," said Vancouver Aquarium biologist Kris Rossing. "If we keep doing this year after year, it's just that many more individuals going into the wild and get to a point where their populations is stable again."
This year marks the second-largest number of tadpoles ever produced by the program in a single year.
In total, the aquarium has raised and released more than 7,000 of the species since 2013.
The tadpoles will be released Monday in Cranbrook.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Shelley Moore
