时间:2024-09-20 08:51:07 来源:网络整理编辑:時尚
Teresa Camacho Badani's boots brimmed with water after slogging through flowing streams in Bolivia's
Teresa Camacho Badani's boots brimmed with water after slogging through flowing streams in Bolivia's mountainous cloud forest. It had been a taxing day searching for an elusive frog that potentially still inhabited the gushing streams here -- though the species hadn't been spotted in 10 years. She was exhausted.
But she stepped into one last stream, and found a wild-eyed, orange-bellied Sehuencas water frog. She screamed.
"I couldn't believe it," Badani, the chief of herpetology at the Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d’Orbigny, said over the phone from her office in Bolivia.
At a time when conservation news is repeatedly dour and current extinction numbers are between 100 to 1,000 times that of the natural, expected rate, the discovery of this female frog (along with four others) provides a dose of cautious optimism.
The recently found water frog, "Juliet," held by Teresa Camacho Badani.Credit: Robin Moore/global wildlife conservationNo one knows how many of these rare frogs still exist in the wild, said Badani. But it's undoubtedly few. So conservationists at the Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d’Orbigny will now attempt to expand the water frogs' population in captivity -- now that they have females.
For 10 years, the museum kept watch over a lone male Sehuencas water frog, which they nicknamed Romeo. And after raising funds to support intrepid expeditions into the remote forest (Badani and her team spent three hours pushing their car out of a muddy river), Badani's four-person team, comprised of veterinarians and biologists, ventured into the wilderness.
Once the water frogs are healthy and habituated, the captive breeding program will begin. They now have three males and three females.
But the species is by no means saved. Like many critters globally, the Sehuencas water frog is victim of a depleted habitat. Big swaths of its already-limited ecological niche are being cleared away, largely for plantations and agriculture. These agricultural ventures aren't always necessarily bad -- people in remote regions need to find ways to support themselves. But it's happening in Sehuencas' habitat.
The cloud forest in Bolivia.Credit: robin Moore/global wildlife conservationMany of the images of the frogs' forest home are burgeoning with vibrant green forest. But "the pictures are deceiving," said Badani. This pristine wilderness is vanishing.
And it's not just the Sehuencas water frog that's suffering. Before finding their first frog at the day's end, the conservationists hadn't even spotted another frog species.
"It was empty," said Badani.
But now, they have an improved hope to raise a population of these depleted frogs. The next step -- if the captive breeding proves successful -- is finding protected habitat for the frogs to survive.
It's an ambitious effort to preserve the world's color and biodiversity, up in the cloud forests where the orange-bellied water frogs roam the streams, and hop through waterfalls.
TopicsAnimalsSustainability
Fyvush Finkel, Emmy winner for 'Picket Fences,' dies at 932024-09-20 08:08
Antarctica's massive Larsen C iceberg looks different in daylight2024-09-20 08:05
Want to stop men like Harvey Weinstein from ruining women's lives? The solution is simple.2024-09-20 07:59
Waymo is launching a campaign to teach people about self2024-09-20 07:43
This coloring book is here for all your relationship goals2024-09-20 07:06
Walmart's Jet.com is launching its own line of groceries to compete with Amazon2024-09-20 06:46
Dating app maps where people love and hate the 'take a knee' protests the most2024-09-20 06:42
Amazon still has no idea why Google pulled Youtube from the Echo Show2024-09-20 06:33
Dramatic photo captures nun texting friends after Italy earthquake2024-09-20 06:22
Empire State Building and other global landmarks went dark in honor of Las Vegas victims2024-09-20 06:18
Tesla's rumored P100D could make Ludicrous mode even more Ludicrous2024-09-20 08:33
Hedgehog camping is the only camping I care about2024-09-20 08:15
America Ferrera reveals she was sexually assaulted when she was 9 years old2024-09-20 08:14
Valve is producing new lenses to improve existing VR headsets2024-09-20 08:06
Honda's all2024-09-20 07:31
Want to stop men like Harvey Weinstein from ruining women's lives? The solution is simple.2024-09-20 06:42
Microsoft literally built treehouses for its employees2024-09-20 06:37
South Korea takes cue from China, bans ICOs2024-09-20 06:32
Michael Phelps says goodbye to the pool with Olympic gold2024-09-20 06:25
Antarctica's massive Larsen C iceberg looks different in daylight2024-09-20 06:07