This is a long-term project to restore England’s rarest amphibian.  ARC’s pool frog recovery work is currently funded by:

• The Beveridge Herpetological Trust
• The Douglas and Joanne Chapman Animal Trust
• The William Dean Countryside and Educational Trust

The northern pool frog became extinct from England in the 1990s, but since then (from 2005-2008) it has been reintroduced using closely related frogs from Sweden.  To spread the frogs to a second location, tadpoles have been head-started. This means that a small quantity of spawn has been collected (under licence from Natural England) so that tadpoles can be reared under captive conditions, protected from predators, to boost the numbers surviving to become froglets. Head-starting has been used to bring frogs back to Thompson Common – the last home of English northern pool frogs.  Head-started pool frogs were released at Thompson Common in four stages from 2015 to 2021 and have now established a second population.

ARC wishes to establish further populations of northern pool frogs at additional sites within the former historic range (East Anglian Brecks and Fens), or nearby, to ensure a future for this rare form of the species in England.  A site specification for the northern pool frog is available as a PDF download or a brief video presentation.

ARC welcomes contact with site owners and/or managers who would like to work with us. Please contact Project Manager John Baker or [email protected].

For more information about the northern pool frog visit our species information page.  For background information on northern pool frog history and status take a look at Katie Garrett’s video for bioGraphic Returning England’s Forgotten Frog.

ARC’s pool frog recovery is carried out in partnership with other organisations and individuals, including Anglian Water, Brighton University, Forestry England, Natural England, Norfolk Wildlife Trust, the Zoological Society of London and independent herpetologists.