The Year of the Frog highlights how our amphibious friends are facing extinction
Story by APINYA WIPATAYOTIN
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Large-eared Rock Frog
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African Bullfrog
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Tomato Frog
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Ornate Horned Frog
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Solomon Island's Leaf Frog
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Malayan Brown Toad
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Kero Kero Keroppi and Kermit the Frog, your fellows are in danger.
Frogs have always been popular with people. Many children around the world enjoy the fairy tale of The Frog Prince, and toys of the tiny animal are perennial favourites, from Keroppi in Asia to Kermit in the west.
But the real-life relationship between frogs and people is heading for an unhappy ending, as man-made industries and global warming threaten the species with extinction.The Global Amphibian Assessment group has found that more than 32% of frog breeds are listed as endangered, compared with 12% of all bird species and 23% of all mammal species.
Almost half of all known amphibian species are declining and some 165 amphibian species are feared already extinct.
Sumate Kamolnoranath, director of the technical division of the Zoological Park Organisation (ZPO), said: "Frogs and other amphibians are the first species to be affected by global warming. If their skin becomes dry, it can't take oxygen into their body. No oxygen means no life. This phenomenon happens directly to the amphibians, unlike other species for which the effects will not be felt until later generations."
The ZPO's concern has led to five zoos nationwide starting campaigns on the plight of the species, and this year is also designated "The Year of the Frog". The five zoos all have the same goal of raising public awareness about the problem of global warming and its impact on sensitive species of amphibians.
The campaign was launched at Chiang Mai Zoo in February, followed by Dusit in Bangkok, Khao Khiew in Chon Buri, Nakhon Ratchasima and Songkhla.
Bunyat Insuwan, chief of Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo, said the zoo has collected about 60 rare amphibians from many provinces nationwide, along with other species from South America, Madagascar and mainland Africa. They are kept in an exhibition hall with a fixed temperature of 25 degrees Celsius to imitate their native environment.
Mr Bunyat added: "Frogs are very fascinating animals because they can adapt to live in harmony with their environment. Some have amazing behavioural traits for courtship and breeding.
"But we know very little about amphibians, considering their long history - over 140 million years more than dinosaurs."
Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo is now exhibiting the northern cascade frog, which is mostly found around waterfalls from northern Thailand to the Tenasserim mountain range along the Thai-Burmese border.
As they live around noisy waterfalls, the frogs cannot attract mates with the loud vocals employed by other breeds, so instead the females wave their legs to gain the males' attention.
Unfortunately, this frog is considered under threat of extinction due to environmental changes.
Another at-risk breed is the Malaysian brown toad, which is found in the Hala-Bala forest in the deep South. It is the only tree-dwelling amphibian in Thailand and is threatened by deforestation.
Tanya Chan-ard, director of the reference division of the National Science Museum, who is also the country's foremost amphibian expert, voiced concern, saying many of the species are in danger.
"In Thailand, we don't have studies on the extinction of amphibians. But I can say that many of them are at risk of disappearance due to shrinking forest areas and diseases caused by climate change," he said.
According to the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, there is concern for at least 10 species of amphibians living in Southeast Asia, including the Chanthaburi warted frog and the median-striped bullfrog.
Mr Tanya cited a case of chytrid fungus spreading among amphibians in Africa. This has been blamed for the disappearance of several species.
He says there is a high chance amphibians in Thailand will be affected by this disease because clawed frogs, which are a fungus carrier, have been shipped worldwide, including to Chatuchak market in Bangkok. Japan has already reported incidences of the disease.
According to Mr Tanya, many frogs also contain medicinal chemicals.
"For example, chemicals from the common Indian toad are refined for use as a sleep aid. Or the giant monkey frog from South America gives us adenoregulin, a substance to treat depression and Alzheimer's disease," he said.
"Losing just one frog species means we potentially lose an important source of medicine."
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