No reserve proclaimed for Eduan Park’s Bullfrog population
Bullfrogs in the Eduan Park area adjacent to the railway line may soon be relocated to make way for a proposed township development.
POLOKWANE – The proposed development includes an area that was for years described as a ‘bullfrog reserve’, but which has never been proclaimed as such, will not be done haphazardly and the small population of bullfrogs will be taken into account.
This assurance was given at a meeting Monday evening between the developers and residents of Eduan Park.
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Dr Wynand Vlok, an ecologist, has done his homework and attendees were informed about the proposed development by the developer, Networth Property Developers. The development, which still has to get the green light from the municipality, includes land adjacent to Logan Street and up to the railway line, as well as to the eastern side of Eduan Park, bordering Diemeer Street up to Veldspaat Street, with the railway line as the northern border.
Vlok informed residents a reserve has never been proclaimed for the bullfrogs. No formal protection thus exists for the population of bullfrogs in the area to the northern and eastern side of Eduan Park. He has spent four weeks studying the area and found a lot of dumping sites for building rubble, alien invader plants, copper cables that have been stripped, sewage pollution, erosion dongas and even stolen wares in the veld.
The Giant Bullfrog is the second largest species of frog in the world and during their breeding season, shortly after sufficient rain has fallen, frogs emerge from their burrows approximately 50 cm under the ground to breed.
A lot of frogs are killed by vehicles when crossing roads, especially in Diemeer Street, which is a busy street during the time when they are active.
Vlok spoke to a number of well-known frog experts such as Prof Les Minter, author of Frogs and Climate Change, Joe Grosel and Dr Derek Engelbrecht about the population of the bullfrogs in the area. Vlok said the frogs will be exposed to pollution and soon would not be able to move freely because of the alien plant invasion.
All experts he has spoken to agreed the frog population was under threat. Discussions with Vincent Carruthers, author of Frogs and Frogging in South Africa and SA Frogs – a Complete Guide, for instance also revealed that Carruthers felt the dumping of building rubble and sewage pollution posed a severe threat to the small population in the area.
According to Joe Grosel, the last survey in 2015 found 15 adult breeding bullfrogs and many sub-adult frogs, many of these died in roadkills when hit by vehicles and some residents also view the meat of bullfrogs as a delicacy to be eaten. Vlok’s recommendation was that another way must be found to get a programme in place to relocate the bullfrogs and take them to a viable place where there is a bigger genetic pool available. He said the bullfrogs are not on the endangered species list any more. “The developers are also keen to protect the bullfrogs and will ringfence funds to relocate the frogs to another suitable place.”
Vlok said many bullfrogs have already been relocated to the Polokwane Game Reserve, but there is also a possibility to relocate the frogs to a private property close to Polokwane which is game-fenced and will be a safe haven for the frogs.
