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The Houston Toad is a toad native to the Texas area. The species was discovered in the late 1940s. There are approximately 3000-4000 toads left in the world.

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The green represents the counties currently inhabited by the Bufo houstonensis. The orange represents counties that Bufo houstonensis inhabited before 1998.

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The biggest threats to the Bufo houstonensis are habitat loss, automobiles, predators, pesticides and drought. It was wiped out from the Houston area during the drought of the 1950s. Bastrop State Park Lake (below) is one of the largest chorusing areas but has seen a rapid decline in numbers.

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Conservation efforts include working with Bastrop County landowners in protecting and restoring the toads habitats however results have been lacking due to fires and the difficulty in preserving the species. The Houston zoo released one million eggs into the wild however.

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The Bufo houstonensis is important to the local ecosystems by consuming insects and keeping the local population down.

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I would recommend further lakes being designated as preserves and closed off to the public during the February-March mating season in order to provide the toads the ability to mate and grow their numbers. I also recommend mating in captivity and releasing the tadpoles into the wild.