On a Mission for Toads – In Cologne and Vietnam

Citizen Conservation / On a Mission for Toads – In Cologne and Vietnam

Anna Rauhaus breeds amphibians in the Cologne Zoo and works with conservation efforts in Vietnam.

Breeder

Anna Rauhaus

Species

Bony-Headed Toad

Region

Vietnam

Anna Rauhaus is a caretaker in the Cologne Zoo’s aquarium. Her work has made it possible to breed several species in captivity for the first time, and colleagues around the world value her knowledge and expertise in amphibian care.

On a Mission for Toads – In Cologne and Vietnam

Tropical heat, the steaming rainforest, uncounted species — while some scientists stay busy trying to catalog and describe all the amphibian species in Vietnam, their colleagues have their hands full trying to save them from extinction. Anna Rauhaus from the Cologne Zoo is one of them. With her skills as a zoo keeper, she helps her Vietnamese colleagues develop breeding spaces for endangered species, research their reproduction, and form breeding groups on site.

Mission in Vietnam

The rainforests in northern Vietnam are a hotspot for biodiversity, and home to the research and breeding station Me Linh.
| Thomas Ziegler — The rainforests in northern Vietnam are a hotspot for biodiversity, and home to the research and breeding station Me Linh. | Thomas Ziegler

The entrance to the “Me Linh Station for Biodiversity” in northern Vietnam. It is run by the Institute for Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR) in Hanoi. The Cologne Zoo supports the station with staff and financing. 
| Thomas Ziegler — The entrance to the “Me Linh Station for Biodiversity” in northern Vietnam. It is run by the Institute for Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR) in Hanoi. The Cologne Zoo supports the station with staff and financing.  | Thomas Ziegler

Among other things, the Me Linh Station serves as a sanctuary for confiscated or injured animals, which are nursed back to health and prepared for possible reintroduction into the wild. Monitor lizards are frequent visitors in the station. Here, they can be cared for appropriately. | Thomas Ziegler

Anna Rauhaus helps identify the sex of a stately monitor lizard at the station. The big lizards are illegally hunted for their leather and meat. | Truong Quang Nguyen

Turtles are hunted especially often because they are eaten as well as used in traditional Chinese medicine. Animals cared for at the station are marked with a transponder so researchers can recognize them if they cross paths again. | Thomas Ziegler

Several critically endangered species are bred in the Me Linh Station. The Chinese Crocodile Lizard is on the verge of extinction. Anna Rauhaus cares for the animals in the Cologne Zoo and has shared her knowledge with her colleagues in Vietnam, who have now also set up a breeding program. | Anna Rauhaus

But Anna is also actively involved in research in Vietnam. Here, is recording environmental data in the habitat of the Chinese Water Dragon near the Me Linh Station. | Thomas Ziegler

Amphibians have their own space in the station. It serves as both a base for research projects and a breeding station for endangered species. | Thomas Ziegler

In addition, amphibians are kept in outdoor facilities – the climate is optimal on site. That allows researchers to collect biological data and breed animals for species conservation. | Anna Rauhaus

Just one of the many amphibian species that are being successfully bred thanks to Anna in Me Linh: the Black-Webbed Treefrog Rhacophorus kio. It is one of the flying frogs that can travel long distances between trees in gliding flight. | Thomas Ziegler — Just one of the many amphibian species that are being successfully bred thanks to Anna in Me Linh: the Black-Webbed Treefrog *Rhacophorus kio*. It is one of the flying frogs that can travel long distances between trees in gliding flight. | Thomas Ziegler

The station’s exhibits were developed in cooperation with experts from the Cologne Zoo to help raise awareness about the threat to local wildlife within the community. | Thomas Ziegler

Research, animal protection and breeding, training and cooperation. In Vietnam, Anna can use her diverse interests to benefit animals and nature—her absolute dream job. | Thomas Ziegler

Mission in Vietnam

Ambassadors in Cologne

Amphibians are also being bred at home in Cologne. There they are ambassadors for their natural habitat and a key reserve for species conservation. In the past few years, Anna and her team have managed to breed nearly 20 species of frogs, toads, and salamanders, including highly endangered species, in their special breeding room for amphibians. The terrarium team in Cologne is specialized in endangered and little-researched species. They also help host and find homes for confiscated animals.

On a Mission for Toads – In Cologne and Vietnam

A disastrous trend: Comparison of forests in Vietnam in 1983 and 2004

Forest destruction in Vietnam

A particularly charming toad

One of Anna’s favorites is the Bony-Headed Toad. In Vietnam it is endangered, but in Cologne it is reproducing quickly thanks to dedicated care. “Bony-Headed Toads are beautiful animals with a very special charm,” Anna says. “I am glad we have been helping them multiply over several generations in the Cologne Zoo.” She is also pleased to see Citizen Conservation’s private breeding volunteers helping out.

“Bony-Headed Toads are beautiful animals with a very special charm.”

From passion to profession

How do you find a job like Anna’s? “I’ve always loved amphibians. Apart from the fact that they’re just very likeable, I’m fascinated by their sheer diversity.” So much so that after a few semesters at university, Anna decided to switch to something more practical that truly inspires her: animal caretaker with a focus on species conservation. She has been a caretaker in the Cologne Zoo’s terrariums since 2014. “No two days are the same,” says Anna about her dream job. “Especially with the amphibians, you have to look at their perspective and consider how to best mimic their natural living conditions. In the Cologne Zoo, it is especially nice that the breeding is combined with research and species conservation.”

Offspring in the Cologne Zoo amphibian room

Approximately 20 species are being raised in the special amphibian breeding space in the Cologne Zoo. | Anna Rauhaus

One of the successful breeding programs raises the Southeast Asian frog Sylvirana nigrovittata. | Anna Rauhaus — One of the successful breeding programs raises the Southeast Asian frog *Sylvirana nigrovittata*. | Anna Rauhaus

One key success was the first successful breeding of the endangered Vietnamese Crocodile Newt Tylototriton vietnamensis. | Anna Rauhaus — One key success was the first successful breeding of the endangered Vietnamese Crocodile Newt *Tylototriton vietnamensis*. | Anna Rauhaus

The kinship structure of Kurixalus biscacculus is complex – the captive breeding at the zoo helps answer scientific questions. | Thomas Ziegler — The kinship structure of *Kurixalus biscacculus* is complex – the captive breeding at the zoo helps answer scientific questions. | Thomas Ziegler

The strange Banded Bullfrog Kaloula pulchra is yet another ambassador in Cologne for the world of southeast Asian animals. | Anna Rauhaus — The strange Banded Bullfrog *Kaloula pulchra* is yet another ambassador in Cologne for the world of southeast Asian animals. | Anna Rauhaus

Frogs from other regions are also bred in Cologne, such as the Guenther’s Triangle Frog Cornufer guentheri, which is perfectly disguised in the leaf litter of his South Sea Island habitat. | Thomas Ziegler — Frogs from other regions are also bred in Cologne, such as the Guenther’s Triangle Frog *Cornufer guentheri*, which is perfectly disguised in the leaf litter of his South Sea Island habitat. | Thomas Ziegler

Conservation breeding programs like those in the Cologne Zoo are especially important for highly endangered species such as Hoogmoed’s Stubfoot Toad Atelopus hoogmoedi nassaui from Surinam. | Thomas Ziegler — Conservation breeding programs like those in the Cologne Zoo are especially important for highly endangered species such as Hoogmoed’s Stubfoot Toad *Atelopus hoogmoedi nassaui* from Surinam. | Thomas Ziegler

Cooperation of amphibian lovers

As a part of Citizen Conservation, Anna and her team like to work with people that engage in amphibian breeding in their free time. “Ultimately, breeding space and staff is limited in zoos. With dedicated private breeders, we can expand our capacities while sharing and gaining knowledge — a win-win situation for breeding and conserving endangered species.”

And when she’s had enough of her amphibians, Anna turns to theater. She acts in an improv group, and the Wuppertal Children’s and Youth Theater. Maybe they will perform “The Frog Prince” soon — tying everything together quite nicely.

Bony-Headed Toad

Ingerophrynus galeatus

The bony-headed toad wants to be left in peace. That is why it lives far away from human settlements in the Southeast Asian rainforests. These, however, are getting scarcer. A massive problem not just for the toads.

Anna Rauhaus breeds amphibians in the Cologne Zoo and works with conservation efforts in Vietnam.

Breeder

Anna Rauhaus

Species

Bony-Headed Toad

Region

Vietnam

On a Mission for Toads – In Cologne and Vietnam

Mission in Vietnam

Mission in Vietnam

“Bony-Headed Toads are beautiful animals with a very special charm.”

Offspring in the Cologne Zoo amphibian room

Bony-Headed Toad

Ingerophrynus galeatus

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