corroboree frog?

[timmy_crabb]

hi guys, i know the corroboree frog is in danger but ive heard its in SUPER danger! is this true? ive also heard because its in danger we cannot keep it? in reading ive heard people are breading it, or trying two. apparently one plan is to release adults into their natural habitat in the wild. this is a good idea, but wouldnt it also help to release some to the public? i'm not saying me, but those with the resources with which to help in the repopulation of this frog. it is so beautiful!

 

[yuzzy]

well the dillema with the corroboree frog is the need to maintain the right humidity and temp. As you also have probably read the reproductive process is very intricate and hard to replicate in a captive environment. I love this little frog and would love to have a few but its just too hard, it is the amphibian equivalent of the thorny devil.

 

[timmy_crabb]

"it is the amphibian equivalent of the thorny devil" so it is possible to care for them just extremely time consuming/hard? ok. so we can or cant keep them?

 

[Rossagon]

Go and have a look at www.frogs.org.au. Gerry Marantelli is the guy who is doing most of the research on this great little Pseudophryne, down at the Werribee Treatment Plant!!!

 

[Nagraj]

... ive also heard because its in danger we cannot keep it?

No, it's in danger because it's habitat is being being destroyed.

 

[timmy_crabb]

RE: Re: corroboree frog?

yeah. its in danger and its habitat is being destroyed, but can we keep it? that was my question! from what i have read we cant. but i raise another question, would it not be benificial to (if the public is not allowed to keep this species) to allow and help those with the means to, to keep and breed them. habitat and temp can be controled so the only problem with this species could be the time?

 

[Nagraj]

How about those with the means use those resources to try to save the habitat and thereby benefit many species instead of using it as an excuse to add another species to the captive list.

 

[ihaveherps]

how many keepers can afford to keep a refrigerated frog enclosure?

 

[stencorp69]

How about those with the means use those resources to try to save the habitat and thereby benefit many species instead of using it as an excuse to add another species to the captive list.

What means would that be? How far would a couple of grand (guessed cost of keeping a couple of frogs PA) go towards buying their habitat to prevent them going extinct. There are numerous examples of captive breeding saving species - in a decade or so's time we may have wished that we'd captive bred some of the current NT species not listed after the cane toads are done.

IMO

 

[Nagraj]

Purchasing habitat is probably an ineffectual method of preventing extinctions. I am referring to collective efforts to exert pressure on politicians to achieve a result.

 

[stencorp69]

Purchasing habitat is probably an ineffectual method of preventing extinctions. I am referring to collective efforts to exert pressure on politicians to achieve a result.

That could take longer than the animal in question may have - the cane toad was a massive issue in SE QLD when I was a kid 30 years ago and not much has changed, fire ants may have a big impact up north and while the talkfest is going on about the corroboree frog......whoops no more kermit. IMO quickest fix captive breeding programs, then the pollies can talk forever. Kermit's happy(he's alive), pollies happy (they can keep on talking), hobbist's happy, science is happy (they'll learn more about the frog). Where's the downside

 

[Nagraj]

... the cane toad was a massive issue in SE QLD when I was a kid 30 years ago and not much has changed ...

There are no recorded extinctions due to the cane toad in Australia and yet millions of dollars has been spent on biological controls etc. because it is a popular issue with the media and hence politicians. Imagine what could have been achieved for the corroboree frog if this money had been more wisely allocated.

 

[CodeRed]

how many keepers can afford to keep a refrigerated frog enclosure?

Yeap, its probably a bit more expensive than your ordinary frog to keep. Didnt Taronga setup a whole refrigerated container for these little froggies?

Its probably not in the frog's best interest to have their limited numbers spread around the recreational keepers.

 

[MrBredli]

All the money that went into 'saving' the Green & Golden Bell Frogs (which are pests in New Zealand) during the lead up to the Olymipcs should have gone towards saving the Corroboree Frog.

 

[Nagraj]

Where's the downside

The downside is that we take that approach to every threatened extinction and yet nothing is done about the continuing destruction of habitat. It is an easy way out for everyone in positions to do something about it.

Everyone says "lets's just collect them all and breed them in captivity". As you said, good for the developers, good for the banks, good for the investors .......... no, can't see any downside myself.

 

[stencorp69]

Where's the downside

The downside is that we take that approach to every threatened extinction and yet nothing is done about the continuing destruction of habitat. It is an easy way out for everyone in positions to do something about it.

Everyone says "lets's just collect them all and breed them in captivity". As you said, good for the developers, good for the banks, good for the investors .......... no, can't see any downside myself.

I think you mentioned the developers,banks and investors and if that's your complete arguement for not captive breeding I still can't see any down side.,but that's OK we can agree to differ.

In realtiy the more popular reptiles and frogs get the greater chance we have of keeping off list species as opinions and then polictical clout will sway towards the acceptance of keeping them.

Sten

 

[Hickson]

I don't think that Corroboree Frogs should be in private hands, not yet. I do think some concerted efforts should be made towards establishing captive populations in accredited zoos, but habitat preservation is also essential. Conservation doesn't just mean keeping the species alive, it also involves returning them to the wild in such numbers that they are self-sustaining. That can't happen unless there is a 'wild' for them to go back to, and the pressures that were acting upon the population have been ameliorated or negated.

And one of the problems this little guy has is the fact that they are an alpine species. His habitat is disappearing as a result of global warming and so their environment is retracting to the mountain tops. And I'm not sure if anyone has worked out how to save habitat threatened in that way.



HIx

 

[JungleWog]

Hey guys!
interesting conversation!! when i was at work experience for year 10 i went to Tidbinbilla reserve in canberra and helped out with the corroboree rehabilitation project! it was so kewl! wat they do is they have around 50 or so tanks and they breed the tadpoles in there. when they start to grow feet they are moved into seperate containers with lots of spagnum moss! here they spend their 4 years or so until they become sexually mature then they are released back into the wild! it was a really great experience and i thought i would share it with you! if you are ever in canberra you gotta go check it out its great!!

catchya all later!

 

[ashley_morris22]

just letting you all know (im not being smart) but when i was chasing them up (which cost me over $80 in std phone calls(22 different places)), i was told you can't keep them, ant it was the canberra bushfires that pretty much wiped them out. now i found out off a lady named renee from western planes zoo, told me they have some in there program. and if i was to fine one don't expect to find it under $700 and i would be lucking if it lived over 3 weeks in qld even if i had the money for a set up.

maby just maby thats why Aussie zoo doesn't have any


I'm not being smart- i'm just letting you all know


thanks
ashley

 

[JasonL]

Yes that is correct about the bushfires wiping most of them out, but it seems they are dieing out anyway, due to global warming, less rain that is drying out their peat bogs that they require to live in. That whole Genus seems to be suffering to some extent. There is also the Northern Corroboree Frog (It has thicker black lines) that is doing alot better than the Southern one. The way it is looking, they will be extinct in the wild and only captive animals will be in existence with no suitable habitat for them to be released into..