A Deadly Fungus Could Wipe Out Tree Frogs: Here's How to Help

Honduras Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Center from Garrett and Garrett Videography on Vimeo.

“I love frogs because I feel a lot of people don’t,” says Jonathan Kolby, one of the founders of the Honduras Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Center (HARCC). “And it’s important to me to work with animals that are often overlooked.”

Kolby is a National Geographic Explorer and PhD candidate at James Cook University who is currently in Cusuco National Park, a cloud forest located in Northwestern Honduras, setting up a research and treatment center for endangered frogs. National Geographic reports that Kolby and his team (special shout out to Sara Ramirez, Brandon L. Greaves, Kristi Mcgrath, Katie Garrett, Carlos Augusto, Andino Galeano, Jessi Krebs and Ryan Marshall) just launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds to help save three species of frogs from extinction.

According to NatGeo, a deadly pathogen outbreak called “amphibian chytrid fungus” is infecting and killing off the Honduran frog population. The disease has already spread to about 60 countries throughout the world and is threatening to wipe out these beautiful, already endangered tree frog species in particular:

1. Cusuco spike-thumb frog (Plectrohyla dasypus)

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2. Exquisite spike-thumb frog (Plectrohyla exquisita)

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3. Mossy red-eyed frog (Duellmanohyla soralia)

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Beyond being adorable, unique creatures, there are numerous reasons to help save the frogs. Frog tadpoles act as “river lawn mowers,” eating algae and other plant material which keep rivers and water clean for the people living nearby. Frogs may also help control the spread of human diseases by eating mosquitoes, which contribute to the spread of malaria, dengue, Zika and more mosquito borne illnesses. Plus, frogs are an important food source for many other animals.

HARCC’s main objectives are to prevent extinction and keep these species alive in the wild via a head-start program, which collects young frogs from the park before they die from chytrid, treats them to cure their infections, and then reintroduces them back into the wild as healthy adult frogs.

Funds from the Indiegogo campaign will go towards running and maintaining a captive breeding colony of frogs at HARCC, which allows Kolby and his partners to continue releasing frogs back into the wild even if a sudden extinction event occurs.

Contributions raised will go towards frog life-support equipment, an insect rearing facility (to produce frog food), construction of a water tower (to produce frog-safe water), frog rescue activities (disease & population surveys in Cusuco) and employing HARCC staff.

“They’re beautiful, and they’re interesting, and they’re unique,” says team member Brandon L. Greaves. “They’re just one of the most fascinating animals I can think of.”

We know children everywhere and, of course, Kermit the Frog would agree. You can find HARCC on Facebook and Twitter, as well, for more information and updates.