Rare frogs in Te Puke minefield

Guest blogger: Central North Island Field Officer Al Fleming

Hochstetters frog, Photo: G Shirley

Hochstetters frog, Photo: G Shirley

New Zealand is home to four varieties of frog, most of whom are earless, voiceless, and exist in damp habitats, however there is one such species that enjoys watery climes: the miniscule Hochstetter’s frog, which is listed as vulnerable on the ICUN’s red list.

So when I heard that a large slip had occurred at Te Puke Stone Enterprises my heart sank. The question that kept reappearing in my mind was did the slip enter the Rarapahoe stream, the last known haven of the genetically distinct Oropi Forest Hochsetters frog?

Read more »

Loving the silent type

Guest blogger, Frog scientist & conservationist, Phil Bishop  

One of the commonest questions people ask me is “Why frogs? What makes them so special to you?” and it’s a hard one to answer. 

Often I reply with a flippant suggestion that maybe I was a frog in a previous life, but when I sit down and try to ask myself that question, I realise that at a very early age, roundabout 4 years old, I had an ‘up-close and personal encounter’ with a common British toad and basically fell in love (as much as a toddler could) with amphibians. 

Read more »