Argentina’s Somuncura Plateau in the Patagonian steppe resembles a vast rocky lunar landscape. It’s where a volcanic stream allowed for the evolution of a tiny amphibian, the El Rincón stream frog which has found its biggest champion in Dr Federico Kacoliris.

"Unlike most people, I was drawn to those often seen as ugly or feared – frogs, snakes, lizards, but also many insects. I like them. I don’t know why..." he tells Kate and Edward. The frog was one of the most endangered amphibians in the world. In this episode, Federico explains to Kate and Edward how his team at his NGO Fundación Somuncura brought the frog back from the brink of extinction through captive breeding and finding solutions for people living in this remote landscape whose livestock were a threat. Federico is now scaling up and creating a nature reserve to share his enthusiasm for the extreme landscape that he loves with tourism on the agenda to see his favourite frog and other fauna....

How to Save It highlights ingenious solutions from the world’s leading conservationists. To learn more about their work and to receive updates, sign up here https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_NewsletterSignup 

Find out more and watch Federico’s short film https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Kacoliris

Photo credit: Hernán Povedano

Follow us on https://www.instagram.com/whitleyawards/ and https://uk.linkedin.com/company/whitley-fund-for-nature

For more on the discovery of new species, listen to our episode with Leroy Ignacio in Guyana https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Ignacio 

Executive producer: Sarah Treanor

Illustrations by Emily Faccini

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