Joburg Zoo releases 70 endangered Pickersgill’s reed frogs in KZN
SAXONWOLD – This is the third year that the zoo has worked on this project, having released 200 frogs in 2018 and a further 50 in 2019 to sustain the dwindling population.
Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo in collaboration with Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife is working to establish a sustainable insurance population for the endangered Pickersgill’s reed frog.
On 18 February, Joburg City Parks and Zoo released 20 tadpoles and 50 frogs to the KwaZulu-Natal coastal forest biome, which is the only place in the world where this frog is found.
This is the third year that the zoo has worked on this project, having released 200 frogs (measuring 22mm on average) in 2018 and a further 50 last year to sustain the dwindling population.
The Rosebank Killarney Gazette spoke to the curator of amphibians, reptiles, fish, arachnids and insects at the Joburg Zoo Ian du Plessis ahead of the release of the frogs.
Du Plessis explained that the zoo has created a space for the frogs to breed in captivity for the past three years. He said that the frogs have only be found in between 25 and 27 small wetland sites in the KwaZulu-Natal coastal forest biome including St Lucia.
Threats to the frog’s habitat are the primary reason for the amphibian’s endangered status. Some of the factors impacting this include water pollution, mechanical pollution, industrialisation, urbanisation and destruction of wetlands.
Du Plessis explained that due to a mass chytrid fungus outbreak between 1980 and the early 2000s wiping out almost all amphibian life, the zoo has committed to conserving the South African biodiversity. The Joburg Zoo has created a captive environment mimicking the sites where these frogs breed, while Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife is responsible for in situ work.
Du Plessis and his team are dedicated to increase the number of frogs released to a few hundred each year. He explained that frogs are an indicator species, which are usually the first to die when habitat conditions have changed. Pickersgill’s reed frogs feast on crickets, mosquitoes (preventing the spread of malaria), spiders and beetles, therefore assisting in the maintenance of a healthy ecosystem.
Du Plessis encouraged residents to not kill frogs, but rather bear with them since they perform an important role in the ecosystem.
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