Golden frog (Mantella aurantiaca)

Species: Golden frog (Mantella aurantiaca)

Status: Critically Endangered (CR)

Interesting Fact: The toxins in the golden frog’s skin are obtained from its diet, and are lacking in captive-bred individuals that are fed on non-toxic prey.

The golden frog is a small, poisonous frog found only in a very small part of central-eastern Madagascar. As its name suggests, its skin is usually bright yellow, orange or red, and contrasts with its black eyes. The tips of its digits have adhesive pads. This tiny frog only grows to just over two centimetres in length, with females being slightly larger than males. It lives in damp, swampy areas of forest and breeds after the first heavy rains of the year. The golden frog lays its eggs in leaf litter, moss or under bark, and after the tadpoles hatch they either wriggle to water or are washed into pools by rain.

Its bright colouration makes the golden frog popular in the pet trade, and over-collection still occurs in some areas, although it is not yet known whether this is affecting the frog’s population. The golden frog is listed on Appendix II of CITES, which should regulate international trade in this species, and import of wild-caught individuals to the EU has been banned since 2006. A potentially more serious threat is the severe fragmentation of this species’ remaining habitat. This colourful frog is bred in captivity in a number of zoos and other institutions around the world, but it will also be vital to protect its remaining habitat if it is to survive in the wild.

Find out more about amphibian conservation at ARKive’s amphibian conservation page, Amphibian Ark and the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group.

See images of the golden frog on ARKive.

Is the golden frog your favourite species? Vote for it now in our World’s Favourite Species campaign!

Liz Shaw, ARKive Text Author

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Organised by UNESCO, World Book and Copyright Day is held yearly on the 23^rd of April, a date which also marks the birth and death of William Shakespeare, and aims to promote reading, publishing and copyright. To celebrate and help people rediscover the pleasure of reading, we’ve gathered together some of our favourite animals featured in famous and much-loved works of literature. How many of these books have you read?!

Life of Pi – Richard Parker

Bengal tiger

Winner of four Oscars, the popular 2012 film Life of Pi was based on Yann Martel’s intriguing novel of the same name, and tells the story of Pi, a young boy from Pondicherry, India, who ends up on a remarkable journey. When the ship taking him to North America sinks, Pi is left stranded on a lifeboat for 227 days with only Richard Parker for company. Trouble is, Richard Parker is a Bengal tiger…

Harry Potter – Hedwig

Snowy owl

Adored by children and adults alike, the Harry Potter books have sold more than 450 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling series in history. Each novel in the seven-book series envelops readers in a wonderful world of magic and mayhem, and is filled with charismatic characters and fantastical creatures. Among these is Harry Potter’s loyal feathery friend Hedwig the snowy owl, a large, powerful owl species with piercing golden-yellow eyes.

Moby Dick – Moby Dick

Sperm whale

“He tasks me! That whale, he tasks me!”

It doesn’t end at all well for Captain Ahab when he tries to take on Moby Dick, the gigantic white sperm whale that had bitten off the sea-farer’s leg on his last whaling voyage. In the story, Captain Ahab, a vengeful whale-hunter, is determined to track down the great whale and kill it, but the tables are turned when the harpoon rope becomes entangled around his neck, and he is dragged to the ocean’s depths by the very animal he was trying to kill.

Esio Trot – Alfie

Egyptian tortoise

“ESIO TROT, ESIO TROT, TEG REGGIB REGGIB!”

The star of Roald Dahl’s 1990 children’s novel Esio Trot is none other than Alfie, a little tortoise who, his owner believes, would be much happier if he were a little bigger. We can’t be sure exactly what species Alfie is supposed to be, but one fellow carapaced creature that knows all about being diminutive is the Egyptian tortoise. This runty reptile has a high-domed shell which grows no longer than about 14 centimetres at full size!

The Ancient Mariner – the albatross

Wandering albatross

Being followed by an albatross is often considered to be a good omen for sea-farers, and in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, an albatross appears at a most opportune moment, leading the ship and its crew out of the bitterly cold Antarctic. However, much to the anger of the other sailors, the Mariner shoots the bird, an action which causes bad fortune to befall him and his ship mates. The albatross in the poem could well have been a wandering albatross, which has the largest wingspan of any bird, reaching up to an impressive 3.5 metres across.

The Jungle Book – Baloo

Sloth bear

Much-loved by many, Baloo the bear in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book is described as being ‘the sleepy brown bear’. However, this law-teaching character is actually thought to be a sloth bear, which is found in the Seoni area of India where the novel takes place. Sloth bears are unique amongst bears in that the majority of their diet is composed of insects, particularly termites and ants…this might explain Baloo’s choice of snack as he sings ‘Bear Necessities’ in the animated Disney film adaptation!

White Fang – White Fang

Grey wolf

Published in 1906, Jack London’s novel White Fang is set during the Klondike Gold Rush in Canada’s Yukon Territory at the end of the 19^th century. It tells the story of the trials and tribulations faced by White Fang, part dog and part grey wolf, as he grows from a feisty pup into a majestic canine. Grey wolves are highly social and intelligent animals which hunt efficiently in packs. Once wide ranging in the northern hemisphere, the grey wolf now has a more restricted distribution, being extinct in parts of Western Europe, Mexico and the USA.

Jaws – the great white shark

Great white shark

A 1974 novel by Peter Benchley, Jaws tells the story of the residents of a fictional seaside town terrorised by a man-eating great white shark, and the efforts of three men to rid the small resort of the fearsome beast. While the film of the same name became a Hollywood blockbuster, it can’t have done much good for the reputation of some of the ocean’s most incredible predators! Despite media frenzy surrounding the topic, only an average of 30 to 50 shark attacks are reported each year, and of these just 5 to 10 prove to be fatal. If you consider that, in the coastal states of the USA alone, lightning strikes and kills more than 41 people each year, it’s really not that high a statistic!

The Wind in the Willows – Mr Toad

Common toad

Mr Toad, an impulsive motor car enthusiast and the owner of Toad Hall, is one of the central characters in Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows. Described as resourceful and intelligent, Mr Toad is a self-centred yet loveable rogue, and finds himself in several scrapes throughout the book. While not known for its penchant for tweed suits, the common toad is believed to be the inspiration behind the wealthy occupant of Toad Hall.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar – the caterpillar

Swallowtail caterpillar

We couldn’t finish off this blog without mentioning a wonderful childhood favourite which documents a fascinating biological process…The Very Hungry Caterpillar! Young and old are enthralled by this picture book following the journey of a caterpillar as it chomps its way through various food items before pupating and emerging as a beautiful butterfly!

We hope you’ve enjoyed reuniting with some of the most famous (and infamous!) creatures in literature! Was your favourite animal character featured here? If not, comment below to tell us who your top choice is!

Four of our Top Ten Animals in Literature have made it onto the shortlist of the world’s Top 50 Favourite Species…so why not check out what else has been nominated and cast your vote!

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Text Author

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The Face of Climate Change

Today more than one billion people from around the world will take part in Earth Day, an annual event which celebrates our amazing planet and encourages people to take positive actions to protect it.

It is easy to think of climate change as a remote problem but the reality is it is impacting people, places and species all over the world, and the numbers are increasing. The theme of Earth Day 2013 is ‘The Face of Climate Change’, which was chosen to highlight the increasing impacts of climate change on individuals around the world.

This year to mark Earth Day we have selected our own ‘Faces of Climate Change’ in order to raise awareness about some of the many species affected by climate change.

ARKive’s Faces of Climate Change

To mark Earth Day 2013 here at the ARKive office we have selected our own Faces of Climate Change.

Polar bear

Climate change is the biggest threat facing the polar bear

The polar bear is dependent on sea ice to hunt, breed and rest but climate change is causing drastic reductions in the extent of ice coverage across the Arctic region. This reduces the polar bear’s access to prey, forcing them to spend more time on land and rely on stored fat reserves.

Coral Reef

Coral bleaching is increasing due to rising sea temperatures

Climate change is one of the greatest threats to coral reefs. Coral bleaching, a process where corals lose their symbiotic algae due to the stress of being exposed to extreme temperatures, is becoming more frequent as the sea temperatures rise. Bleached coral are unable to obtain enough nutrients so begin to starve. To find out more visit ARKive’s coral reef conservation page.

Koalas

Climate change is likely to affect the amount of nutrients koalas get from eucalyptus

Climate change could affect the amount of nutrients koalas obtain from eucalyptus, their main food source, as higher carbon dioxide levels reduce the protein levels and increase the amount of tannins in the leaves of eucalyptus.

North Atlantic Right Whale

Climate change is likely to have an affect on the abundance of the North Atlantic right whale’s prey

Increases in sea temperatures and changes in ocean currents is likely to cause the planktonic prey of the North Atlantic right whale to move location or reduce in abundance, having potentially devastating consequences for this already highly endangered species.

Atlantic Salmon

Increasing water temperatures could affect the developmental rate of juvenile Atlantic salmon

The Atlantic salmon’s developmental rate is directly related to water temperature. Therefore it is possible that increasing water temperatures could result in more rapidly developing juveniles entering the ocean before their planktonic food source has reached sufficiently high levels.

Arctic Fox

The tundra habitat of the Arctic fox is changing due to climate change

Climate change is turning the tundra, the habitat of the Arctic fox, into boreal forest as new plants are beginning to colonise the area. This change in habitat is causing a decline in the Arctic fox’s prey species and allows the red fox, a competitor, to move into the area.

Golden Toad

Climate change and chytridiomycosis are thought to be responsible for the extinction of the golden toad

The extinction of the golden toad is thought to have been caused mainly by climate change and the disease chytridiomycosis.  Amphibians are sensitive to even small changes in temperature and moisture, with changes in global weather patterns altering breeding behaviour and affecting reproductive success. Find out about what is being done to protect the world’s amphibians with our amphibian conservation topic page

Sea turtles

Climate change could lead to a disproportionate number of females in sea turtle populations

The gender of sea turtle hatchlings is determined by the temperature at which the eggs are incubated in the nest, with cooler temperatures producing more males and warmer temperatures more females. Increasing temperatures, due to climate change, will result in a disproportionate number of females in a given population.

To find out more about climate change visit ARKive’s climate change topic page. You can also test your knowledge with ARKive’s Climate Change Quiz.

Jemma Pealing, Media Researcher

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Western swamp turtle (Pseudemydura umbrina)

Species: Western swamp turtle (Pseudemydura umbrina)

Status: Critically Endangered (CR)

Interesting Fact: The western swamp turtle is the only turtle species that digs its nest with its front legs rather than its back ones.

The western swamp turtle is the most endangered reptile in Australia, where it is found only in a tiny area on the edge of Perth. It inhabits shallow, temporary swamps that only fill during the autumn rains. The western swamp turtle is inactive during the dry summer months, remaining dormant in a hole in the soil or under leaf litter or fallen branches. This species eats only live prey, such as insect larvae, worms and tadpoles, and is unusual in that it produces just one small clutch of three to five eggs each year. The western swamp turtle is long lived, potentially reaching ages of 60 to 70 years.

Although it has always had a restricted distribution, the western swamp turtle has undergone a serious decline in recent decades due to the drainage of its swamps and predation by the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes). The slow reproductive rate of this species hampers its recovery, and only one viable wild population remains, with two others now maintained by reintroductions. Fortunately, the sites where this turtle still survives are protected as nature reserves, and fox-proof fences have been erected to protect the turtles. A captive breeding programme for the western swamp turtle is also underway at Perth Zoo.

Find out more about the conservation of freshwater turtles at Conservation International – Freshwater turtles, the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group and Turtle Survival Alliance.

See images of the western swamp turtle on ARKive.

Liz Shaw, ARKive Text Author

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After a 300-year absence, the European bison is once again freely roaming the forests of Germany.

In 1927, no European bison remained in the wild, with just 54 captive individuals being found in zoos

A welcome return to the wild

A small herd of European bison has been released in Germany, marking the first time in over 300 years that this species has roamed the country’s wilderness. Once widespread across Europe and northern Asia, the European bison, also known as the wisent, underwent a dramatic population decline as a result of large-scale deforestation and hunting. By the 1920s, the species was extinct in the wild, and only 54 captive individuals remained.

Reintroduction programmes began in the 1950s, and since then the European bison has successfully been released in forests in ten countries, including Belarus, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, the Ukraine and Slovakia. However, Germany has this month become the first western European nation to see the bison return to its borders.

The European bison is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List

Unhindered herd

For the last three years, the small herd of just eight bison has been held within a 220 acre pen. Researchers have been monitoring the group, which comprises one male, five females and two calves, and have conducted several studies relating to the animals’ release.

Experts have deemed that the bison pose no danger to humans, and so the decision was made to allow the herd to roam unhindered in the Rothaar Mountains of North Rhine-Westphalia. Officials took down the fence earlier this month, enabling the bison to enter Germany’s forests, and it is hoped that the small herd will grow in number to include around 25 individuals. Two of the bison have been fitted with radio transmitters so that scientists can track and monitor them.

Once extinct in the wild, there are now 1,800 European bison roaming free in Europe

Successful reintroductions

An interesting reintroduction study is currently being conducted in Pleistocene Park, a protected area in northern Siberia. Researchers are investigating the effects of returning bison and other large native animals to the region, to see if the area is returned to the steppe ecosystem which was present during the Pleistocene epoch.

Reintroduction of the European bison within its historic range has so far proved successful, with an impressive 1,800 individuals now roaming the wild, all of which have stemmed from the 54 captive individuals.

Read more on this story at Mongabay.com – Bison return to Germany after 300 year absence.

View photos and videos of European bison on ARKive.

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Text Author

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