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October 10, 2005

Freakish Frog's Fate Foreboding

"The frog does not jump in the daytime without reason."
                -Nigerian Proverb

Bigger is better, right? Unfortunately, this is not true for the Goliath Frog. Yes, you heard me right, there's a frog by that name, and it can be more than a foot long sitting and more than three feet long when it's legs are fully extended, making it the largest frog in the world. Since their discovery in 1906, the Goliath Frog's size has made it the target of herp-crazy collectors and zoos throughout the world - today they net as high as $3000 US each. They're also hunted for food and medicinal purposes by some indigenous tribes.

Living only in swift-moving rivers bordering the rainforests of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea in western Africa, the Goliath frog suffers from severe habitat loss. The endangered species' regulatory agency CITES does not currently recognize or protect Goliath frogs, so the wildlife trade continues, despite its status as vulnerable and their populations unknown.

Cameroon allows 300 goliath frogs to be exported each year, but luckily they're not easy to find; even the best professional collectors rarely catch more than a few dozen per trip.

More at: American Museum of Natural History: Goliath Frog

Very little is known about the Goliath frog - how many there are, how long they live, why they're so big are all still open questions. They don't croak or make noise, which makes them hard to find in the wild. They're hard to catch, partly because they're hard to find, but they also can jump up to ten feet per jump to evade capture. Unfortunately, once captured, Goliath frogs don't survive well in captivity. Protecting their native habitat is the only way to ensure their survival as a species.

THere are some great videos of Goliath frogs on the ARKive site.

Posted by sorsha at October 10, 2005 4:29 PM