Endangered frogs released in Mount Moreland, Prospecton

TWO hundred captive-bred endangered Pickersgill’s Reed frogs were released in Mount Moreland and Prospecton in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal last week.

The Department of Environmental Affairs, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the Johannesburg Zoo released the frogs in areas where their parents originated. The release of the frogs took place one year after the publication of the Biodiversity Management Plan for the Pickersgill’s Reed Frog (Hyperolius pickersgilli).

The aim of the Biodiversity Management Plan is to improve the conservation status of Hyperolius pickersgilli and secure its future survival in the wild.

Environmental Affairs said the major benefit of the species management plan will be to obtain the support of owners, managers and occupiers of land on which the frogs occur for implementation of conservation actions.

Environmental news: Virginia pond project reaps rewards

The department said the highest species richness for frogs occurs in KwaZulu-Natal, an area that has been recognised as being important for both frog endemism and having high levels of human activity, particularly in the coastal regions.

Pickersgill’s Reed Frog is a small frog known only from limited and highly fragmented coastal wetland habitat in KwaZulu-Natal, mostly commercially-owned land.

“Without concerted proactive conservation intervention, it is highly likely that the species will become extinct,” the department said.

The Pickersgill’s Reed Frog is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red Data List and by South Africa’s Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS) Regulations of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act.

Read also: Coding should be compulsory at school says deputy minister

The species is KwaZulu-Natal’s only amphibian species with this status.

For more from Northglen News follow us on Facebook or Twitter. You can also follow us on Instagram