Day 39: Hope for a frog

Frogs are one of those creatures that borders for me between cute animal that I want to hold versus little insect that gives me the willies.  I don't see them very often, but I do have fond memories of them from when I was young and living in Germany.  I can remember sitting in the grass at my soccer practices, and totally getting distracted by the little frogs hopping around.  They were tiny, probably about the size of a nickel or a quarter.  And so fun to watch and to hold, feeling them hop around in my cupped hands.

I would love for Isla to experience nature like this someday.  And while our world is changing, with fear of population loss of various species, there are people fighting to save them and even making huge successes.

"Frog populations around the world have been falling victim to a deadly infection, but there may be a ray of hope for their future: For the first time Panama's La Loma tree frog has been bred in captivity.

The critically endangered La Loma tree frog (Hyloscirtus colymba) is notoriously difficult to care for in captivity, but scientists with the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project have successfully bred the species in their facility.

The rescue project has 28 adult La Loma tree frogs and the four tadpoles that have resulted from the program at the Summit Municipal Park outside of Panama City, Panama. Researchers have also successfully bred the endangered Limosa harlequin frog (Atelopus limosus)

"We are some of the first researchers to attempt to breed these animals [in] captivity, and we have very little information about how to care for them," said Brian Gratwicke, a research biologist at the Smithsonian National Zoo. "We were warned that we might not be able to keep these frogs alive, but through a little bit of guesswork, attention to detail and collaboration with other husbandry experts, we've managed to breed them."" ouramazingplanet.com

With people dedicating their working lives to save these frogs, there is hope that one day this species and others that are endangered, will be able to be removed from the endangered list.

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