Back from the brink of extinction: hunting for the world's rarest frog
Back from the brink of extinction: hunting for the world's rarest frog
There were only four southern Corroboree frogs left in Australia but a conservation team hopes a new scheme can stop it disappearing
Oliver Milman
@olliemilman
Sunday 8 March 2015 16.15 EDT
[font size=1]
The southern Corroboree frog. Photograph: David Hunter for the Guardian
[/font]
If youre planning on scouring a vast Australian mountain range looking for what is probably the rarest frog in the world, scientists suggest a rudimentary approach works best.
We shout out hey frog, hey frog and listen for a call back, says David Hunter, a threatened species officer at the New South Wales state government. I hate to think how many times Ive shouted that out.
A more technological approach camera traps, for example wouldnt really work given the endangered southern Corroboree frog measures just 3.5cm in length.
The frogs the females are largest and pear-shaped when carrying eggs are coloured by flashes of bright yellow as a warning to predators of the toxins developed from the gobbling up of ants. But the frogs arent fully visible unless you stoop down for a close look.
More:
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/09/back-from-the-brink-of-extinction-hunting-for-the-worlds-rarest-frog