Rare frogs airlifted from a Caribbean island to save them from a rapidly-spreading fatal disease have bred for the first time at London Zoo.

The critically-endangered mountain chicken frogs were rescued from Montserrat to preserve and develop a healthy population of the amphibian, which was facing extinction from the chytrid fungus.

Frogs have been housed in a bio-secure, temperature-controlled breeding unit, where two females have produced 76 young.

The mothers laid eggs in a self-made foam nest and guarded them as they developed into tadpoles, which they then fed every three to five days with unfertilised eggs.

The offspring will be released back into a protected and disease-free area of the wild when they are fully grown. Zoological Society of London (ZSL) curator, Ian Stephen, said: “To say we’re de­lighted by this accomplishment is an understatement to say the least. These frogs are one of the most endangered animals on the planet”.

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