In 2014 Nordens Ark became the newest partner in the mountain chicken project, and hope to assist in the restoration of self-sustaining, viable populations of the mountain chicken through breeding captive individuals and later reintroductions. The Ark itself is located near Smögen in Sweden and is run by a non-profit foundation.
Nordens’ have been helping the mountain chicken’s cause since 2007, when they started keeping and breeding captive specimens. In 2014, they decided to join the project to help reintroduce their successfully bred frogs into the wild. The Ark’s possession of bio-secure facilities and their wealth of experience (honed by their work on other amphibian species like the European green toad) has been a major boon to the project, both of which are absolutely vital in the face of chytrid fungus’ inexorable march and the ever-increasing number of threatened amphibian species.
Another major field of expertise Nordens Ark offers to the project is in research, including behavioural and field research which can assist in both in-situ and ex-situ conservation efforts, especially relating to breeding success.
Finally, but by no means least importantly, Nordens Ark also help to raise awareness of the threats facing amphibians and other endangered species in the hopes of safeguarding these species into the future. The Ark helps to educate people of all ages, from pre-schoolers all the way to graduate students.