Meet the white-bellied frog.
This little frog is native to Australia; more specifically, the creek lines south of the Western Australian town of Margaret River. They are heavily reliant on the muddy creek beds, and over the last few decades, their populations have drastically declined due to destruction and disturbance of their habitats. Agricultural and tourism development has transformed their native slow moving creeks in to fast moving channels; the frogs are unable to survive and reproduce under these conditions.
Like many other critically endangered species, herpetologists have initiated breeding programs to bolster the species' remaining numbers. The Perth Zoo, along with WA's Parks and Wildlife Service, has been breeding the frogs in an aquarium setting to stabilize local populations, but they had to overcome a major obstacle to do so. The frogs required their natural muddy environment in order to successfully reproduce, however the herpetologists were conflicted about collected the mud required. As their natural habitat has diminished, the conservationists felt it would only be more detrimental to collect what little remained, even if it was only a small amount.
"If you have got a threatened species that hasn't got much critical habitat left, the last thing you want to be doing is digging it up, even if it is a bucket full at a time." - Dr. Peter Mawson, Perth Zoo director of animal health and research Source
In response, the zoo created their own synthetic mud that almost perfectly mimicked the mud of the frogs' native creeks. Replicating the environment of the frogs has been incredibly successful; the zoo recently released 139 adult white-bellied frogs back into the wild. Perth Zoo staff are now preparing to share their mud recipe so that other facilities can begin conservation efforts for this species.
"We are looking at writing this up into a short paper with technical notes so that people can see what the basic recipe is. It's a bit like sharing your cooking recipes in a cook book.” -Mawson Source
This may seem like a lot of effort to save a single species, but conservationists point out that this is a necessary effort. Other species share the same area the frogs inhabit; by working to protect the remaining frogs, we are also aiding those species as well.
"We have a number of species of fresh water burrowing crayfish that actually live in the same sort of damp soils, so if you are protecting habitat for the frogs you are also protecting it for them." -Mawson Source
Researchers will now begin creating synthetic replicas of natural habitats in order to preserve those critically threatened. This is a good reminder that, while saving an individual species, we have to be mindful that we are also conserving the habitat they rely on. By creating an artificial form of their native environment, we can ensure that what little remains of their habitat is left for the frogs.
Article Link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/
That's exactly the best way to save these endangered species. Too bad, some species that have gone into extinction didn't enjoy such privileges. Creatures like the Pyrenean Ibex
Such a sad story, but a happy ending! Thanks for sharing this! I'm so passionate about conservation!
I just watched a interesting documentary, which showed something astonishing: a beetle who - especially in its larval stage - eats frogs.
Usually its the other way around, but this species of beetle (Epomis Circumscriptus) uses the greedy behaviour of frogs to its advantage. The larvas even try to look especially "insecty" by waving their legs, to make the frog try to grab them. But if he does, they bite and suck out the frogs body fluid and then eat it. Really creepy stuff.
May be it would be material for a post for you.
Yes, getting the right environment for some animals can be challenging. Everybody who is keeping fish will know what I'm talking about.
Fish live in water, right? Well, yes, but not any water... There is so much that can go wrong with the water in a fish tank, its almost a art form to get it right. And the difficult thing is: cleaner is not automatically better. I guess thats also the case with the "special mud" for the frogs. I assume it will need to have a complex micro-biological life in it, to be suitable for the frogs.
Great and powerful posting thanku
what a healthy looking frog... nice photo shot...
good to create awareness... keep it coming
Good post, in my place, toads like that are easy to find, usually during heavy rain.