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The Year of the Frog
Conservation groups, including the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the World Conservation Union, have declared 2008 the international year of the frog to highlight the plight of amphibians and to focus research on providing a fuller understanding of how the fungus can be controlled.
© George Sunter A global campaign has been planned to raise awareness of the amphibian crisis among educators, media, corporations, governments, and the public, and to generate funding for amphibian conservation.
Sir David Attenborough, who is the patron of the Year of The Frog, said: “Amphibians were the first backboned creatures to colonise the land. They are fascinating. It’s terrible that they are endangered. “To have a whole section of the animal kingdom facing elimination is a major disaster, the consequences of which are difficult to overemphasise. They are the foundation of many eco-systems.”
ZSL London Zoo is one of about 500 zoos around the world that are expected to take part in the Amphibian Ark campaign to save frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and caecilians. In the past two years at least a dozen species of amphibian have been taken from the wild to safeguard their future. An estimated 120 species of amphibian have become extinct since 1980 and 1,891 species are threatened.
Click on the video below to see Sir David Attenborough talking about Amphibian Ark and the global amphibian crisis.
