Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. It’s been 17 years since the bright yellow Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki) hopped through its native habitat. But after nearly two decades of hard work, conservationists are finally reintroducing a new generation of the tiny, fluorescent amphibians back into the tropical island’s ecosystem. It wasn’t that long ago that golden frogs were staring down almost certain extinction. The saga began in the late 1980s, when an invasive fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) arrived in lower Central America. Soon, Bd spores spread throughout Panama. The fungal spores had no difficulty traveling through water—and because golden frogs only live close to streams, they soon encountered the fungus themselves. Golden frog recently released into the wild | Rana dorada liberada recientemente a la naturaleza While Bd isn’t a problem for humans, it’s devastating to many amphibians like the golden frog. After infecting a host’s skin, the fungus disrupts the body’s electrolytes through a disease called chytridiomycosis. Before long, a frog’s salt …