Do you know that frogs are disappearing and are the most threatened group of animals? Thirty percent of frogs worldwide are in danger of extinction! Over 200 species of frogs have become extinct since 1970. Frogs face many threats including: habitat loss, invasive species, pesticides, climate change, infectious diseases, over harvesting, pollution, etc. They are fragile to many of these threats due to their highly permeable thin skin, which can absorb oxygen and water, as well as chemicals and other harmful things from the environment.

Frogs are important for insect control, medicine research, food for other animals, and as indicators of the environment. Healthy frog populations indicate healthy wetlands.

You can help by not using pesticides, don’t eat frog legs, don’t purchase wild-caught frogs, don’t pollute, and support the Save the Frogs organization (savethefrogs.com). I myself am part of a citizen- scientist group called FrogWatch where we monitor frog calls at night at locations to survey the different species of frog populations.

Find out other ways to save animals and conserve our environment at our Earth Day event on April 20, during our Afternoon Explorations at Roper Mountain.