Currently in Madagascar there is a bully. But, this is not your typical bully. This bully is the Asian toad, also known as Duttaphrynus melanostictus. The toads are threatening rare wildlife and frightening locals.
The theory on how they got to Madagascar is that they hitched a ride in some shipping containers from Asia between 2007 -2010. While Madagascar doesn’t have native toads, people who saw these bullies roaming knew something was wrong. And still no one knows why they have decided to make Madagascar their new home.
These toads are endangering locals, harming snakes, lemurs and exotic animals that are unique to the island. If they feed off these toads they will be poisoned, since these toads are known to be very poisonous. Smaller animals can shrink in size and as species, become extinct.
Asian Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) in Madagascar by Franco Andreone.
Scientists are still trying to come up with ideas on how to get rid of these toads and such measures wouldn’t be horribly expensive. It would cost about $2 million to $10 million (the effort would need only a wealthy backer from the West) — but that’s really just a guess. No one knows exactly where the toads are or precisely how many are in Madagascar. There’s no easy way to find them, and there’s no quick method of dispatching them, at least not in the numbers necessary for eradication.
And then there’s the fact that no one has tried to remove invasive toads on such a scale before. There have been three successful removal projects, but they were all in much smaller areas.
Asian Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) in Madagascar by Franco Andreone, close up.
So it looks like eradication won’t be possible, the scientists conclude, at least without a lot more research that would let managers and the government overcome many hurdles. And by that time, the toads will probably have become so numerous that, like in Australia, any such efforts would be impossible.
Guest post by Leigh-Ann Brady, who resides in NJ with her 8 year son. She is an artist and writer who is also concerned about the environment.
“You would think there would be something in place,” said Vance T. Vredenburg, a biologist at San Francisco State University. “We really need a government agency at some level to take action and do something.”
…The pet trade brings huge numbers of salamanders into the United States. Fish and Wildlife Service records show that about 780,000 salamanders were imported from 2010 to 2014. Dr. Vredenburg and his colleagues found that 98 percent of the imported animals were native to Asia.
We have been watching Chytrid Fungus, or Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd for short) wipe out many species of frogs. Humans have helped spread this disease around the world and now we have an opportunity, if we act quickly to help the salamanders.
We’re worried about the Asian fungus that causes the disease “Bsal” which has already reached Europe, wiping out 96 percent of fire salamanders in the Netherlands. Now, researchers have determined that the fungus will spread like wildfire if it reaches North America, and they’re calling for an immediate ban on all salamander imports.
Fire Salamander from Wikipedia Commons.
Below are a series of articles on this topic from the past week:
I received yet another call from someone distressed about coqui tree frogs on her property. No, she wasn’t wanting to find out how to kill the frogs. She was trying to find out how to keep them and resist aggressive neighbors wanting the frogs destroyed.
For many people in Hawaii, as in Puerto Rico, the coqui frog is considered an adorable creature, singing at night and improving the environment by eating insect pests. They can get loud in large numbers, but for those who enjoy the sounds of wildlife, the coqui chirp is soothing and creates a white noise that aids sleep.
However, the Hawaiian government has passed laws to vilify coqui frogs as a noisy environmental menace, making it illegal to “harbor” or transport coquis within the state. According to the law, coquis frogs are pests by definition, and anyone enjoying them does so at his own peril. Millions of dollars have been spent trying to stop the spread of the frogs, which now reside happily on the Big Island’s east side and in limited areas of the other islands.
Of course, if the coqui frogs were native to Hawaii, they would be protected, not killed. The sound would be appreciated and promoted, as it is in Puerto Rico.
However, in today’s Hawaii, only native species are valued. Introduced species are now regarded as illegal aliens, and harboring these aliens is against the law. Laws defining the coqui as a “pest” allow the cruel slaughter of these tiny, harmless creatures, bypassing humane treatment laws.
The Good Shepherd Foundation, of which I am the director, believes that cruelty to animals is unacceptable, regardless of whether the animals are native or not. In 2001 we started a program to counter the anti-coqui propaganda, called CHIRP, or the Coqui Hawaiian Integration and Reeducation Project. Acceptance, we believe, is better than an endless environmental war against the frogs.
Over the years we have been contacted by many residents who found the frogs desirable on their property, but who were being harassed by neighbors who did not yet have the frogs and wanted them eradicated. This meant having one’s property sprayed with citric acid, which kills plants as well as coquis, lizards, insects, and other non-target species. The acid burns the victims to death.
Anti-coqui hysteria has made people fearful of admitting they like the coquis, faced with the unfortunate choices of harassment, or letting eradicators poison their property.
Some residents would like to remove the coquis to avoid the drama, but don’t want to kill the coquis in the process. These humane-minded people are faced with another dilemma. Moving coquis is a crime. The government has made it so people can only kill coquis, either with citric acid or by cooking or freezing the live frogs. You can’t legally catch the frogs and release them somewhere else where there are other frogs.
This means the Hawaiian government has made it illegal to treat the coquis humanely. It forces residents to either be cruel to the frogs, or to break the law and illegally release the frogs elsewhere, which many people do.
The most recent phone call was from a woman who wanted to save the lone coqui on her property from a certain death. A neighbor heard the frog and reported it to the homeowner’s association, which was dispatching an eradicator right away. The neighbor also complained that this same woman was feeding non-native birds, and threatened to have the birds shot.
For those who love wildlife, Hawaii is no longer a paradise. Species are not valued for their beauty and other positive qualities, or for the biological diversity they bring to these volcanic islands. Instead, they are valued solely for being “native,” and are killed solely for being introduced.
It is a war on wildlife. Property owners, residents, and visitors who value wildlife for what it is, regardless of whether or not it was introduced, are victims of this war.
Guest post: Sydney Ross Singer is a medical anthropologist, author, and director of the Good Shepherd Foundation. He lives on a coqui frog sanctuary with his wife and son on the Big island of Hawaii.
A frog loving fan, James, called the other day to report on what he discovered when he visited his Mother’s pool. It seems that during Superstorm Sandy, the covering of the pool ripped and since there was a separation the frogs began creeping in and under the covering. Since they hadn’t been to the home in a while, they didn’t know this was happening. Being back at the home now, there are thousands of frogs in different stages of development.
by James
I have noticed little tiny frogs sitting on the sides of the walls where the liner touches the ground. They all look so fragile and everything is complicated to touch. I just hope they realize the opening is there if they need to come out.
I did see one jump back from the concrete back into the pool onto the first step when he saw me. That’s how I took the picture. I wanted to put something in the water to float but you can’t throw things in because there are so many. I have to try and place it in but the water is so low. This is a job for specialists because if you use nets in the water you will get tadpoles in all different stages. I have never seen anything like it and the frogs that have developed are tiny. They can fit on the tip of your finger. that’s how big the frog is of the picture I sent to you.
I called Peta today but they were busy and couldn’t talk to me. If you were standing in front the of pool you would say “OMG.” You can’t tell in the pictures. When you are standing in front of the pool looking closely you can see them all.
I feel bad because there are tiny green ones sitting on the step and side of the pool and I’m not sure what their game plan is. I opened part of the liner in case they want to climb out.
I didn’t know frogs need to sleep on something so I suspected they might be on the steps since the water is low. When I looked at the steps in the pool I saw many almost developed in the water, some clinging on the side of the pool, and others were sitting on the steps.
I opened the pool cover in the corner where the steps are located to see if any of them climbed out. I was going to put a back wash hose in the water and lead it out to the ground so they can walk on it and out of the pool. i don’t know if this is a good thing to do because there aren’t any ponds around and people are always cutting their grass. plus its hard to even put anything in because there are so many and they can get hurt. If I put the back wash hose in then I would have to do it very slowly. They ones on the steps were all looking at me while I was trying to take their picture.
I sent his story to a few experts and here’s a response from
Keith Gisser, Herpetologist, Herps Alive! Foundation
I would certainly call Wildlife Management. It is unlikely you are the only one. Having said that, this sounds like toads or (if they are bright green) gray tree frogs. There is a reason they all emerge at the same time and that is so that a few of them make it.
Moving these guys is pretty easy. I would use a fish net and a couple rubbermaid tubs with the water they are in. Just scoop ’em up – froglets in one, tadpoles in the other and get them to a suitable habitat nearby.
We recently read an alarming statistic: it’s possible that only one hundred axolotl salamanders (Ambystoma mexicanum) exist in the wild. Why should anyone care that a strange Mexican salamander may soon be extinct in its native habitat?
It turns out that this salamander is a remarkable creature. It intrigued the ancient Aztecs because of its strange looks and regenerative powers and was believed to be a manifestation of the god Xolotl, who like Charon in Greek mythology, was the ferryman of the dead to the underworld. To the Aztecs, the salamander’s regenerative power was like that of the lake system that sustained them.
Most salamanders are able to regenerate body structures to some extent. But the axolotl is unique in that it can regenerate not only limbs, but also its jaws, spinal cord, and more. After these body parts regenerate, there is no evidence of scarring. Axolotls can even receive transplanted organs from other individuals and accept them without rejection. They are one thousand times more resistant to cancer than mammals. This, of course, has made them of great interest to scientists who study them in captivity.
The axolotl is also one of the few animals that exhibit neoteny, that is, it retains its juvenile characteristics, such as the external gills, which gives the creature its cute looks.
By th1098 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
But this animal, despite its “smile,” has a lot to be unhappy about. Its only habitat is the canal system of Xochimilco in Mexico, which is what is left from what was an extensive lake and canals that connected most of the Aztec settlements of the Valley of Mexico. These canals, along with artificial islands called chinampas, attract tourists and other city residents who ride on colorful gondola-like boats around the hundred or so miles of canals. This canal and chinampa system, as a vestige of the area’s pre-Hispanic past, has made Xochimilco a World Heritage Site.
Unfortunately the canals are polluted with both garbage and fecal matter, as well as industrial fertilizers. Other problems include the damage by introduced plant and animal species. Carp and tilapia fish, for example, introduced in the 1960s, eat the eggs of the axototl.
The axolotl faces long odds for survival. It seems that only a complete regeneration and clean up of the historic canals will save this animal that is often considered a metaphor for the soul of Mexico.
Information for this post came primarily from an article and blog post from the LA Times and a Scientific American blog post. Note: the axototl is also know as the ajolote.
One of our first posts at Frogs Are Green was about the coqui, a frog native to Puerto Rico, where it exists alongside several other species of Eleutherodactylus frogs and where a biological balance is maintained. It was introduced to Hawaii in the mid- to late 1990s and has no competitors so it has spread unchecked and is considered an invasive species. But our guest author, Sydney Ross Singer, a medical anthropologist, biologist, and author living on the Big Island of Hawaii, would like us to look at this problem from a new perspective. Perhaps this “alien” species should not be rejected and destroyed but welcomed.
Besides being beautiful, fascinating, a source of medicinal substances, and essential for healthy ecosystem function, frogs are canaries in the environmental coal mine. They are sensitive to pollution and climate change. And their numbers are declining at extinction rates.
That’s bad news for the rest of us living in the coal mine. Clearly, we need to change our ways.
But change is difficult for a culture to accept. Until people are dying at the rate of frogs, nothing will alter our bad cultural behaviors.
So the next best thing to do is try saving the frogs. We may not be able to stop pesticide and herbicide use, or end the deforestation and development of wild areas, or stop all the industries and lifestyles that contribute to climate change. But we can catch frogs where they are declining and find new, healthier places for them to live.
We might not have the political and economic clout to stop multinational corporations from exploiting and altering the world’s environments. But we can help refugee species flee the destruction and avoid extinction.
There are places on the planet that can serve as sanctuaries for these refugees. One place, in particular, stands out as one of the best – Hawaii.
If you move frogs from one place to another that already has frogs, the immigrants will compete with the natives, and you can possibly lose native frog populations. Hawaii, however, has no native frogs, or any native reptiles, amphibians, land snakes, or lizards. What better place to introduce frogs? Lots of insect pests to eat, warm and humid conditions, and few predators. If we wanted a sanctuary for endangered and threatened frogs, this is the place.
But wait. Can we just move a species from one part of the planet to another? Won’t it become invasive and cause damage?
It is this question that is keeping frogs from finding new homes. According to current trends in environmental thinking, species “belong” where they are “native.” You’re not supposed to move them to places where they “don’t belong.” When it comes to frogs, the Hawaii government has said they clearly “don’t belong.”
Of course, there are already frogs and toads in Hawaii, which were brought by environmental managers for insect control decades ago. Back then species were introduced deliberately to enhance biodiversity and provide needed environmental services, such as pest control, or to serve as a food source. The environment was seen as a garden for us to plant and inhabit as we saw fit.
That has all changed. Now the goal of managers is to kill introduced species in order to preserve and restore native ecosystems as they had existed prior to western contact centuries ago. They won’t get rid of the people, or the agriculture, or the chemical spraying, or the bulldozing, or the deforestation, or the development, or the intercontinental shipping, or the industries and energy policies that help cause climate change. It’s hard to change these aspects of the culture. But you sure can kill things that “don’t belong.”
What was called “exotic” or “immigrant” is now called “alien” or “invasive.” We have gone from an open immigration policy to a bio-xenophobia.
When coqui tree frogs accidentally arrived in Hawaii with shipments of plants from Florida or Puerto Rico, the response was ballistic. The mayor of Hawaii declared a state of emergency. Scientists feared the sky was falling, and that the coquis, which eat lots of insects, would decimate the insect population to the point of starving all other insectivorous creatures. The sound of the frogs, a two-toned “ko-KEE”, was described as a “shrill shriek” guaranteed to keep everyone awake at night, run down property values, and drive away tourists.
Ironically, this same coqui frog is the national animal of Puerto Rico, its native land. In fact, Puerto Ricans love this frog and its chirping sound so much that it is honored in local folklore. People describe the nighttime sound of the coqui as soothing and necessary for sleep, and Puerto Rican travelers often bring recordings of coquis with them when away from home to help them sleep.
Puerto Rico has numerous species of coqui frogs, many of which are now extinct or threatened. Unfortunately, frog numbers are declining because of fungal infections, development, climate change, and pesticide and herbicide use. So you can imagine how angry and upset Puerto Ricans were when Hawaii announced its Frog War to eradicate the newly arrived coquis.
Over the past 10 years, millions of dollars have been spent in Hawaii trying to kill coquis. And despite wide cost-saving cuts in government spending, there is still money to kill coquis.
At first, they tried an experiment to kill coquis with concentrated caffeine, giving the frogs a heart attack. A special emergency exemption was needed from the EPA to allow this spraying of caffeine into the environment. It’s impact on humans, pets, plants, lizards, and other non-target species was unknown, or what it would do once it entered the groundwater and flowed to the oceans. Chemical warfare suits were needed by applicators to prevent exposure to the highly dangerous caffeine, which was at concentrations 100 times that of coffee. There is no antidote for caffeine poisoning.
When the caffeine experiment proved untenable and too dangerous, citric acid was encouraged as a frogicide. Sprayers soaked the forests with acid, sometimes sprayed from helicopters, to drench the tiny frogs and burn them to death. Of course, this also killed plants and other critters, such as lizards. But since lizards are non-native, nobody in the government cared.
But citric acid is expensive. So another experiment was tried, using hydrated lime to burn the frogs. This caustic chemical can also cause irreversible eye and lung damage to people and pets on contact, so another emergency exemption was needed from the EPA to experiment with it. As it turned out, the hydrated lime didn’t work very well, and it killed lots of plants.
So the University of Hawaii experimented on developing a frog disease to unleash on the frogs. They tried a fungus to infect the frogs, the same one killing frogs elsewhere in the world. They realized the fungus might also kill the geckos, skinks, anoles, and other lizards, as well as the toads. But since none are native to Hawaii, none of the eradicators cared. In fact, destroying all the lizards and toads would be considered a plus. The coqui frogs, however, survived the fungus, so it was never released wide scale.
By now you may wonder how people can get away with this abuse of frogs. Aren’t there laws protecting animals from this type of cruelty?
There are. So to get around the laws the Hawaii legislature passed a law defining the coqui as a “pest.” Pest species are exempted from humane laws.
This moral depravity reached its zenith in 2007, with a planned Coqui Bounty Hunter contest to be held by public schools on the Big Island. Schools instructed students to kill coquis, either by burning them with acid, cooking them alive, or freezing them. The school with the most “kills” would receive a prize — the violent video games Playstation 3 and Xbox. The contest was canceled once it was pointed out to the schools that students are supposed to receive humane, not inhumane, education.
Despite the eradication attempts, the frogs spread. Actually, sometimes they spread because of these attempts, since coquis try leaving areas disturbed by spraying. An interisland quarantine on the coqui still exists, requiring all plant nurseries to treat plants with hot water, proven lethal to coquis and their eggs, prior to transport to other islands. But the coquis seem to frequently survive that, too.
So here is the irony. Frogs are disappearing from everywhere in the world except in Hawaii, where the government is trying to make them disappear.
Yet, despite the endless anti-coqui propaganda, people are coming to like the little coqui frog, especially those people who have arrived to Hawaii since the advent of the coqui. To these people, the sound of Hawaii includes the coqui. To these new human immigrants, the coqui is normal, and enjoyable. They understand why the Puerto Ricans love these frogs.
If we are to save the world’s endangered and threatened frogs, and other wildlife that needs rescue from the human-damaged world, we need to change our environmental immigration policy. It doesn’t matter where a species is native, or where it “belongs”. That these species survive is what matters. And this may require finding them a new home.
This is not to suggest that we bring in species willy nilly, without thinking about the impact on local species. We need careful study to know which species can be introduced, and where. But unless we open our borders, and our hearts, to these refugee species, they will die.
We caused their problems. Their fate is in our hands.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sydney Ross Singer is a medical anthropologist, biologist, and author living on the Big Island of Hawaii. He is an outspoken defender of the Hawaiian coqui frog, has created Hawaii’s first coqui frog sanctuary, and has been featured on Animal Planet, PBS Nature, BBC radio, and Univision. He is co-author of Panic in Paradise: Invasive Species, Hysteria, and the Hawaiian Coqui Frog War (ISCD Press, 2005). His website is www.HawaiianCoqui.org.
Guest post by Leigh-Ann Brady, who resides in NJ with her 8 year son. She is an artist and writer who is also concerned about the environment.
![By th1098 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://frogsaregreen.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/AxolotlBE.jpg)
