The Amphibian Foundation's Frog Blog

The current U.S. administration has de-prioritized wildlife and habitat conservation, and has backed away from the global discussion on finding solutions to the climate change crises. There are discussions around the status of the U.S. Endangered Species Act, potentially dismantling it, but many species do not have time to wait for these discussions to shift or end. Action is needed now. This is a grim situation at the national level and many organizations—including Atlanta’s Amphibian Foundation (AF)—are hard at work continuing to support much-needed conservation efforts. In 2016, after 20 years in amphibian biology and conservation, I, with my wife Crystal founded the Amphibian Foundation . We have observed the urgency first hand — at the global level and at home. It is harder for our 11 year old son Anthony to simply go outside and find a frog than it was for us when we were young. We knew that the amphibian community would benefit from an organization with ...

More info on the plight of amphibians and the AMAZING work being done to save them by @frogsneedourhelp @joelsartore Thank you again, Laura for supporting amphibians and amphibian conservation! via Instagram http://ift.tt/2btJKCU

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http://www.care2.com/causes/meet-10-stunning-frogs-whose-populations-are-dwindling.html

We were excited to be a part of this important study! New Study Helps Smithsonian Scientists Prioritize Frogs at Risk of Extinction : Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution and partners have published a paper that will help them save Panamanian frog species from extinction due to a deadly …

http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI3NDEwNTQxOQ==&mid=402787507&idx=1&sn=ab3ca57b63da4f24df0ea577918662b5&scene=0#wechat_redirect

  To coincide with the final days of the climate negotiations in Paris, the Vatican has permitted St. Peter’s Basilica to be turned into a huge backdrop for a   conservation-themed art installation , with huge images of various species being projected on to the building, including mammals, fish, insects and amphibians. One of the projected amphibians is believed to have dwindled down to a population of one—and the sole survivor lives in Atlanta, Ga. For  Fiat Lux: Illuminating Our Common Home ,  National Geographic photographers had their work projected onto the walls of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Renaissance church located within Vatican City, along with selections from   Joel Sartore’s Photo Ark , a project supported by the National Geographic Society that aims to bring attention to the plight of animals at the hands of human beings. An extension of the riveting film   Racing Extinction , giant images of various   creatures covered ...

Vatican projects huge images of wild animals on to St Peter's Basilica to highlight conservation issues. http://bbc.in/1YXa2PQ Posted by BBC News on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 Here is a clip from St Peter's Basilica at the   ‪#‎ Vatican‬   yesterday ... 'St Frank' has always been my favorite with his passion for animals. I think it is a bold and courageous move for Pope Francis to not only allow the powerful images of these endangered animals to be displayed but also to include this event as part of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy ... over a million people were there. This clip contains a picture of the last known Rabbs' Fringe-limbed Tree Frog, whic h resides here at Atlanta Botanical Garden ( ‪#‎ atlantabg‬ ) and includes the call I was able to record of him last December. The first time the species was ever recorded. His story is so sad, potentially being the last of his species, but his story is getting out there and strengthening the conservation ...

 (Image by @joelsartore ) The last known Rabbs' Fringe-limbed Tree Frog, Ecnomiohyla rabborum, which resides in the #frogPOD here at the Atlanta Botanical Garden and images of many other endangered species from around the world were projected on the face of St Peter's Basilica today. The call of this frog, such was recorded in the frogPOD was played while his image was displayed to 1.5 million people below. #Ecnomiohylarabborum #Ecnomiohyla #EndangeredSpecies #Endling #RacingExtinction #ProjectingChange

Public Affairs on Peach did a segment today on South Fork of Peachtree Creek and what is being done to restore habitat at the confluence of the north and south forks. The 'Confluence Trail' is one of our amphibian monitoring sites being studied by the MAAMP. Today, we all had a great time curing the filming, which airs tomorrow at 10am. Atlanta Audubon Director Nikki Belmonte, me, Reporter Adam Murphy and South Fork Conservancy Chair Warner McConaughey after the filming posed with a particularly beautiful adult Spotted Salamander ( Ambystoma maculatum ) Adam was quite fond of the 'lizard like amphibian' and was humored that I made him cleanse his hands with alcohol BEFORE handling the animal. A panorama of the news room Sally Sears from the South Fork Conservancy made sure our heads were not shiny. The control room

Projecting Change , the movement bringing awareness to the global extinction crisis as well as promoting the new documentary film Racing Extinction . This event has developed quite a bit since its premier in October. The last known Rabbs' Fringe Limbed Tree Frog , which resides here at the Garden is featured in the event!

On Friday, The Garden was featured on the Weather Channel's morning show AMHQ. Sam Champion, Maria LaRosa, Mike Bettes (pictured above) and Anaridis Rodriguez were here to do the show and conduct interviews with Garden staff, including me — for a moment — to talk about the Amphibian Conservation Program. To see the video, click below ... The producers wanted to have amphibians on the show, and originally requested some of our most colorful amphibians to go live on national television. I was planning on showcasing Phyllobates terribilis , a bright yellow and potentially lethal Poison Dart Frog as well as Cruziohyla calcarifer , one of the larger Phyllomedusines (Leaf frogs) with brilliant yellow-orange flash coloration hidden by a leaf green dorsum. Friday morning, however, with temperatures still in the 40's, I informed them wouldn't be safe for our tropical amphibians, and substituted them with 2 of our native amphibian species. Lithobates capito , the Carolin...

Atlanta Botanical Garden Frog Pod

Elizabeth Montgomery from the AJC wrote a very nice piece on our Amphibian Conservation Program. Images and captions on the link below. Thanks, Elizabeth! Photos: The frogs at Atlanta Botanical Garden

A Splendid Leaf frog ( Cruziohyla calcarifer ) was featured on Fox 5's 'Wednesday's Child' program Wednesday's Child: William - Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5 Wednesday's Child, A National Program to help children find adoptive families, featured William at the Atlanta Botanical Garden last week. Karen Graham and William toured around the Garden, and the frogs, some of which were featured in the segment, as well as myself, Tracy and Anita, our Wednesday volunteer. For more information on William, please click here: http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/23708214/wednesdays-child-william Anita Wallace, one of the Amphibian Program volunteers, showing William some of the Panamanian frogs William knew a lot about frogs, and was mesmerized (as am I) with the lethal Colombian species

After meeting with Michael Hearst of Unusual Creatures , I learned that this Glass Frog ( Cochranella granulosa ) may be the only Glass Frog on exhibit in the US! She is generally always out in plain view in our Costa Rica exhibit. Earlier this summer, I was visited by Michael Hearst and his partner/camera man,  Joe Beshenkovsky who were looking to film and learn about Glass Frogs (family: centrolenidae) for their show called Unusual Creatures  (the first season of which has been picked up by PBS) . Mike informed me they had been looking everywhere for a place that was working with Glass Frogs, and told me that the Garden may very well be the only institution with Glass Frogs on exhibit! Keep checking back and there will be a short video, featuring Glass Frogs at the Garden due out sometime this fall! Joe, Michael and myself posing with one of the Garden's frogs after a long morning of filming Michael Hearst standing in front of Earth Goddess. Th...

This was too neat! I had to post it ... surprising discovery! Adult female Horned frog, Ceratophrys ornata . The larvae of which have recently been discovered to 'scream' underwater—when poked http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8609000/8609235.stm

ATLANTA -- After millions of years on earth, a species of frog is now down to one. The only "Rabbs fringe-limbed tree frog" from Panama lives in the Atlanta Botanical Garden. This solitary amphibian calls Midtown home. He is called "Toughie" and is a lively and feisty little male. The frog is not for public display as it would be too stressful for the animal. But the public can see him in the July edition of National Geographic Magazine. He may be alone, but he is not being left alone. Frogs inhabit the Atlanta Botanical Garden benches as pieces of art. "We don't know how old he is -- he was brought in as an adult, said Dr. Jenny Cruse-Sanders, Vice President of Science and Conservation. And frogs inhabit a pod in the corner of the facility right off Piedmont Road. "It is very sad actually to have the last of a species. It's a position no conversation organization wants to be in," Cruse-Sanders said. "The last time they detected this f...

Thank you to Joel Sartore and Nat Geo for helping to get his story out there!