Amphibians and reptiles at La Cassinazza

At La Cassinazza, decades of intensive agriculture impoverished the diversity of amphibians: before the re-naturalisation efforts began, the only species present were Green Frog, Italian Tree Frog, Green Toad and Italian Crested Newt. Some of the most important and typical species of the Po Plan were locally extinct.
Unlike birds and mammals, amphibians are not very mobile and thus poorly suited to colonising new areas. For this reason, their return to La Cassinazza was facilitated by re-introduction efforts, which were conducted under strict scientific supervision. Starting in 2001 re-introduction efforts began for Agile Frog, Italian Agile Frog, and Common Toad. The possibility of re-introducing the Po Plain subspecies of the Spadefoot Toad is currently being considered.
Re-introduction efforts took place by transferring egg masses or tadpoles to permanent and temporary pools that were prepared especially for this task, and that are kept isolated from other water bodies, in order to ensure that no fish or other predators are present therein. Egg masses were collected by university researchers from natural ponds within the Ticino River Park; these ponds typically dry up early each year, leading to the death of their tadpole populations.
Evidence of success was forthcoming in spring 2003, when Italian Agile Frogs laid eggs for the first time at La Cassinazza.

The checklist of reptiles and amphibians:




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