Why Frogs
Frog populations have been declining worldwide at unprecedented rates, and nearly one-third of the world’s amphibian species are threatened with extinction. Up to 200 species have completely disappeared since 1980, and this is NOT normal: amphibians naturally go extinct at a rate of only about one species every 500 years!!! Amphibian populations are faced with an array of environmental problems, including pollution, infectious diseases, habitat loss, invasive species, climate change, and over-harvesting for the pet and food trades. Unless we act quickly, amphibian species will continue to disappear, resulting in irreversible consequences to the planet’s ecosystems and to humans. Frogs eat mosquitoes; provide us with medical advances; serve as food for birds, fish and monkeys; and their tadpoles filter our drinking water. Plus frogs look and sound cool, and kids love them -- so there are lots of reasons to save the frogs!
“When we save the frogs, we’re protecting all our wildlife, all our ecosystems and all humans.”
-- Dr. Kerry Kriger, Founder & Executive Director of SAVE THE FROGS!, Washington DC, Save The Frogs Day, April 29 2011
"And what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lonely cry of a whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around a pond at night?"
-- Chief Seattle, 1854
Why We Must SAVE THE FROGS!
- Details
- Written by Dr. Kerry Kriger Dr. Kerry Kriger
- Parent Category: About About
- Category: Why Frogs Why Frogs
- Created: 16 May 2017 16 May 2017
Frogs are an integral part of the food web
Tadpoles keep waterways clean by feeding on algae. Adult frogs eat large quantities of insects, including disease vectors that can transmit fatal illnesses to humans (i.e. mosquitoes/malaria). Frogs also serve as an important food source to a diverse array of predators, including dragonflies, fish, snakes, birds, beetles, centipedes and even monkeys. Thus, the disappearance of frog populations disturbs an intricate food web, and results in negative impacts that cascade through the ecosystem.
"Insect masses like fireworks explode.
Dengue, Malaria, West Nile Virus:
Discomfort, despair will fill your abode.
This is what your life will be without us."
--Frog Poetry by Michael Dutton
Photo from Borneo courtesy David Dennis.
SAVE THE FROGS! TED-Ed Video
- Details
- Written by Dr. Kerry Kriger Dr. Kerry Kriger
- Parent Category: About About
- Category: Why Frogs Why Frogs
- Created: 15 May 2017 15 May 2017
Watch The SAVE THE FROGS! Ted-ED Video
Amphibians are in danger -- worldwide, nearly one-third of amphibian species are on the verge of extinction. SAVE THE FROGS! Founder Dr. Kerry Kriger teamed up with TED to produce the video below, which has been viewed over 175,000 times. Please watch and enjoy exploring our website and finding ways that you can SAVE THE FROGS!
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