"We don't think they are poisonous, but they certainly taste bad," an ecologist says of Australia's corroboree frog, an endangered species that has now been successfully bred in captivity. Video.

The tiny northern Corroboree Frog of Australia is only just hanging on. Populations of both the northern and southern Corroboree Frogs have declined catastrophically in the wild over the last two decades.

The primary culprit is the deadly chytrid fungus which has devastated frog populations across the world.

The Corroboree Frog suffered another crippling blow in 2003, when bushfires destroyed most of the alpine habitat the frogs call home. The loss of habitat due to drought and human-introduced animal grazing have also negatively impacted the frog populations. With fewer than 100 breeding pairs remaining in the wild by 2008, its estimated the northern Corroboree Frog has become virtually extinct in the Australian Capital Territory.

See video here