SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana has secured a £10,000 grant (~US$12,000) from the UK-based Rufford Foundation to save endangered frogs from wildfires in Sui Forest, home of the iconic Giant Squeaker Frog (Arthroleptis krokosua). In collaboration with the Ghana National Fire Service, the team will rehabilitate critical frog habitat that has been degraded by fire, and train farmers, hunters, beekeepers and other local forest user groups in fire prevention and suppression measures.
In addition to invasive weeds, farming, logging and mining activities, recurrent wildfires are a major threat to Ghanaian endangered frogs. One of the worst catastrophes was in 2016 when large swathes of the forest were burnt — including 5,000 native tree seedlings we previously planted to restore critical frog habitat.
Due to the prevalence of the highly flammable non-native plant Chromolaena odorata, large tracks of native vegetation were also destroyed. The fire also directly killed many frogs. Thus, the urgent need for this project to prevent wildfire induced habitat destruction, empower local citizens in protecting their natural resources and save the last remaining individuals of endangered frogs including Giant Squeaker Frog. Less than 30 individual Giant Squeaker frogs are known to be surviving on planet earth. Thank you to the Rufford Foundation and everyone else who has donated to our frog saving efforts!
