Dr. Rochelle Stiles

Amphibian researcher | Frog foster parent | Director of Field Conservation at San Francisco Zoo

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

Want to help lead a 🐸 army?

We’re looking for a new Field Conservation Manager @sfzoo

Come lead a team advancing science-based conservation through captive-rearing of California’s native amphibians and reptiles.

Apply here: https://t.co/byFzktove7

@zoo_jobs

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

🐸 We’re hiring!

Help lead one of California’s largest amphibian and reptile recovery programs.

We’re looking for a Field Conservation Manager @sfzoo to oversee science-based captive rearing, reintroductions, and research.

Apply here:
https://t.co/byFzktove7

[Kurtis Alexander @kurtisalexander]

Kind of sweet when they’re small.

The S.F. Zoo is raising a captive population of San Francisco garter snakes. Scientists plan to begin releasing the endangered snakes, and these newborns, to help rebuild their numbers: https://t.co/7wDUQ6hZdQ

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

Honored to be part of the team launching the first-ever zoo head-start and release program for the endangered San Francisco Gartersnake 🐍! Grateful to our research partners who made this possible.

[San Francisco Chronicle @sfchronicle]

This snake, with deep red and turquoise markings, is considered one of the most beautiful in the U.S. It’s also one of the rarest, with all of them in the wild living in the Bay Area. https://t.co/W9RTsp6I0l

[San Francisco Zoo & Gardens @sfzoo]

It’s World Lizard Day! You can currently see many of our lizard species along the Nature Trail this summer and learn fun facts from our knowledgeable youth volunteers! Also, you’ll find lizards, such as our caiman lizard, Ladybug Lotusflower, at the South American Tropical Rainforest & Aviary, and of course Rinca, our male Komodo dragon, at Komodo Crossing.

If you’re visiting today, don’t miss our pop-up lizard conservation table located at the Exploration Zone from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and meet some lizards along the Nature Trail!

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

🚁🐸 Last week, we completed our largest-ever release in a single day—561 California Red-legged Frogs were airlifted to two remote lakes in Yosemite’s Wilderness Area.
⁣
In ten years, we’ve helped restore this endangered frog by releasing 3,700 raised by zoo conservationists.

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

I'm running my first full marathon. Help me celebrate by giving to the Conservation Head-start Programs @sfzoo! https://t.co/oBrnCIxm5u

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

✨ A Day in the Life of an Amphibian Conservationist ✨

Ever wonder what it’s like behind the scenes saving frogs? Here’s a peek into the world of amphibian conservation at the Zoo—from checking water quality to carefully handling our slippery friends.

📸 Tiffany May

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

We just released 100 endangered Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frogs into Yosemite! 🐸

Raised at the Zoo for a year after rescuing them as tadpoles from a drying meadow last summer.

A big hop forward for conservation! 💚
📸 Ninette Daniele

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

🐸 Tomorrow we’re releasing juvenile Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frogs in Yosemite! Rescued as tadpoles from a drying meadow last summer + raised at the Zoo—now they’re heading home. A big win for this endangered species! 🏞️

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

In honor of #WorldTurtleDay 🐢, here’s a throwback to 2019 when we released this head-started Western Pond Turtle into the wild! Raised at the Zoo to boost survival—every turtle counts. 💚🌱

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

Watch your step! 🥾 The next generation of endangered Foothill Yellow-legged Frogs, tucked carefully against a rock. We collected a small portion of this egg mass for rearing at the Zoo, and plan to release these frogs back to the wild in a year.

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

Join us! 🐸 @sfzoo is hiring a full-time Conservation Intern to help raise endangered frogs, toads, turtles, and snakes for release into the National Parks and Forests of CA. ⛰️

To apply: https://t.co/7iicn6NP0u

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

Wait…there’s more!

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

It’s officially Amphibian Week! You’ll see plenty of photos and stories about endangered amphibians, but what about the humans who dedicated their careers to savings these imperiled species? I’m incredibly honored and humbled to work with these wildlife biologists.

[San Francisco Zoo & Gardens @sfzoo]

It’s Amphibian Week!

We’re always excited to spread the word about amazing amphibians and to share the important work we’re doing to protect and save them, including rearing and releasing local species as part of several repopulation programs headed by our internal conservation department. This includes Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged frogs, that represent the foundation of our programs with only SF Zoo and Oakland Zoo head-starting this species. Currently, we are rearing 1,000 juvenile frogs from six lakes spanning Tahoe National Forest to Yosemite National Park to Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks! We will release these frogs back to the wild this coming June and July. This vid highlights the team’s 2024 releases.

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

It’s been a privilege, Toads. @sfzoo, @YosemiteNPS, and partners made history for another threatened Sierran amphibian.

[San Francisco Zoo & Gardens @sfzoo]

A first ever release of Yosemite toads, reared at SF Zoo, took place recently at Yosemite National Park to re-introduce this federally threatened species not seen there since 2013. The goal is these 118 toads help re-establish a self-sustaining population there. Good luck toads!

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

A year of growing @sfzoo, an hour of getting packed into containers of soft moss, four hours in a car…and finally the big leap for another 250 federally threatened California Red-legged Frogs. A long-term partnership between zoo and @YosemiteNPS conservationists!

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

Another successful week of surveying Western Pond Turtles across the Bay. Biologists came from WA, NM, and CA to join forces to learn more about this imperiled native 🐢. The white boxes are solar-powered trackers!
#turtles #conservation #wildlife

[Dr. Rochelle Stiles @RochelleStiles]

A simple cooler rigged with an aerator and thermometer hiked a mile through the rolling hills of California…to release 165 Red-legged Frog tadpoles. A collaboration between @sfzoo and WRA biologists to save this threatened frog. 🐸