2024 – Another Great Year for Southern Bell Frogs: A Success Story in Conservation

The Southern bell frog (Litoria raniformis) was once a common and widespread species across southeastern Australia, before undergoing a significant population crash, disappearing from more than 80% of formally occupied habitats in less than 30 years.

Long term monitoring has shown that key populations in the Lower Murrumbidgee floodplain have recovered, thanks in large part to targeted conservation efforts and environmental water deliveries to critical habitats. Recent monitoring efforts by the Murrumbidgee Team for the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder’s Science Program have reported lots of Southern bell frogs calling and, importantly, hundreds of tadpoles, following Commonwealth and NSW water delivery to the North Redbank floodplain and Western lakes.