THE SANTA ROSA PLATEAU ECOLOGICAL RESERVE, Calif. (AP) — Efforts to restore the red-legged frog to Southern California, where it had all but disappeared, seemed doomed when the COVID-19 pandemic struck and restrictions were put in place at the U.S.-Mexico border. But scientists were able to airlift coolers of frogs’ eggs from a tiny population on a remote ranch in Mexico and race them across the border to plant them in American ponds. Biologists have been using artificial intelligence to confirm that the batch not only hatched but went on to breed in a remarkable experiment to restore an ecosystem. The red-legged frog is the latest species to see success from binational cooperation along the near-2,000-mile border.

By Julie Watson, Associated Press