On 7 July 2009 the Two Oceans Aquarium transferred  R34,633 to the Amphibian Ark, an international frog breeding programme in zoos and aquariums . The money was collected from donations from Aquarium visitors in the wishing well in the Frogs-Beyond the Pond gallery in the Aquarium.  The well, with the heading “Small change to make big change – making cents for frogs”, is one of the interactive elements in the successful large-scale temporary exhibit which was opened by the Aquarium in partnership with the City of Cape Town in October 2008. The Aquarium joined a number of  zoos and aquariums around the world which committed to similar displays to raise awareness of the plight of frogs, inform visitors on what they can do to create frog-friendly environments and raise funds for the Amphibian Ark.

The Amphibian Ark (AArk) was formed by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and two branches of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN/SSC) – the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG) and the Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) in response to the global amphibian crisis. One half to one third of all amphibian species are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss, climate change, pollution and pesticides, introduced species, over-collection and, most urgently, a parasitic fungus called amphibian chytrid, a deadly disease that is rapidly eradicating amphibian species across the planet.
 
According to the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Global Amphibian Assessment these  threats cannot be mitigated in the wild and, therefore, require zoos and other institutions to save them in the short term until adequate conservation measures to secure wild populations can be developed. The Amphibian Ark helps zoos, aquariums, and other participating institutions to save as many amphibian species as possible by bringing into those institutions species for captive breeding that cannot be safeguarded in nature. Amphibian Ark provides global coordination, technical guidance, training, necessary linkages to other IUCN groups, communications, and guidance on publicity and capital campaigns.

While the Two Oceans Aquarium does not breed frogs, it is committed to spreading the urgent message that amphibians, and their environments, are in serious trouble. Frogs-Beyond the Pond at the Two Oceans Aquarium is a themed and highly interactive gallery which immerses visitors in the world of frogs and invites them to ‘jump in’ to find out more about these quirky yet extremely threatened creatures. Upon entering the gallery visitors are dwarfed by giant arum lilies, mushrooms, clivias, reeds and grasses towering above them, giving them a frog perspective of a suburban garden.  A large interactive touch screen in one corner magnifies frog species, their habitats and some of the threats which face these misunderstood animals. 

In another corner a fully automated puppet theatre show, “Your Friend the Frog”, entertains young and old alike as the hero, a Western leopard toad, undertakes a journey, fraught with the dangers of impenetrable garden walls, speeding cars and hungry herons, from a suburban garden to a beautiful wetland to find his mate.  The toad shares the stage with a cast of other vibrant, colourful characters, including two outrageous dragon flies from the Cape Flats, who use humour and music to convey important frog messages to the audience. 

In conjunction with the interactive gallery, live frogs exhibits have been incorporated into the existing Sappi River Meander Exhibit. The exhibits house mainly local species including the common platanna, arum lily frog, Cape river frog and the endangered Western leopard toad. These exhibits offer a glimpse of species which are fairly common in the Western Cape, but are rarely seen by most people.

Throughout the ages frogs have captured our imaginations and have inspired numerous myths, legends and folk tales. More importantly, frogs being incredibly sensitive creatures, are key indicator species in all the environments in which they are found.  Globally frog species are disappearing at an alarming rate and we should take heed of these warning signals.  Losing frogs means that we are losing our natural systems – the very systems on which we depend for our existence.

For more information about Amphibian Ark, please log on to http://www.amphibianark.org/

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