Critters and creatures easily find themselves relocated

WARREN Dick was contacted by a man who lives down the road from him on the Bluff, curious about a little frog that lived on his front gate for at least two days.

Unsure of what it was, he asked Nick Evans to identify it. He identified it as a foam nest frog. These frogs are not found in the Durban area, they are only found in the Eastern parts of the country, including the Kruger National Park.

Dick made the best decision for the frog’s survival and for the environment and took it to Ushaka’s dangerous creatures. There, the staff graciously agreed to look after it until it can be taken to its preferred habitat for release.

According to Dick, after humans and insects, reptiles and amphibians are the next most likely creatures to hitchhike. “This is never done on purpose, they simply take refuge in the nearest thing they can find. Should it be a car or truck, they can quite easily find themselves on the other side of the country unintentionally,” he said.

“It can be just as harmful to the environment as it can be to the particular animal,” he added. There are many examples of reptiles, amphibians and insects that have accidentally been transported to a different environment and manage to settle and even breed.

This can cause a major catastrophe to the ecosystem where they establish.

“A good example of this is the damage that Burmese pythons caused to the Florida Everglades. The invasive species has become well established in the Everglades and now poses a threat to native species of wildlife.

However, this species did not come into the area as much by accident as it did by careless pet owners. These pythons are kept as pets in many countries around the world, often they escape or owners get tired of them and release them into the environment.”

“I have encountered a few escaped pets over the years, none of which were released into our environment and are now kept by responsible reptile keepers.”

“A few years ago I was contacted by a man who works at the Durban container depot. He found a toad inside a container that came from Asia, it turned out to be an Asian common toad. Fortunately he made contact with me before releasing the toad into our environment. This toad managed to settle in Madagascar and is doing major damage to its indigenous wildlife,” he said.

“Should you come across any wildlife that you are unsure of, contact a local wildlife enthusiast like myself or wildlife centre such as Crow.”  

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