Bat work in Ecuador - not sure of this species' Latin name, but Common name: 'Boxer-short Bat'

It turns out that in places like Malaysia and Indonesia there is a growing trade in capturing live rainforest bats ‘en masse’ for killing and selling. You might think, what has this to do with frogs?, nothing I guess, but I also like bats, and have always been interested in these wonderful creatures.

In fact, if I had not specialised in frogs, bats would have been my subject. In the past I have worked with several bat researchers in the Neotropics and seen as well as photographed many fantastic rainforest species up close. When in Australia I actually stayed at a fruit bat sanctuary and helped release some of the orphans, which was so cool. I also remember on my first visit to Trinidad visiting the famous Tamana bat caves and going deep inside to discover some incredible species, before watching them all emerge in a blur of batwings into the warm tropical night – fantastic!

It turns out that literally thousands and thousands of these amazing flying mammals are being robbed from their natural habitats, including National Parks, to be sold world-wide for one reason or another. Fruit bats in particular are being sought after for selling, and some of the ways they are treated and killed really is atrocious: Bat torture. The bats are not pests, but play an extremely important role in the future of rainforests: Bats are crucial to them for many reasons

Apart from being food delicacies and aphrodisiacs, some  species of bats are currently being killed especially to be sold internationally – framed or stapled-up in plastic bags and sold on the internet to buyers who really just don’t care how they got there. I emailed some sellers this week to say they should be ashamed of themselves for making money this way after knowing full well that the bat species in question were being killed especially. On one occasion I actually got a reply back saying: ‘you are right, I am sorry‘ – just goes to show..

Perhaps if more people do this we could at least put a stop to some of these creatures being killed simply to be sold on the internet. What do you think? Please let me know. or maybe them…

Here

Here

&  Here

    Bat Conservation international      Kalimantan Project      Bat Conservation UK

Atelopus varius, (c) Andrew Gray

Fifteen years ago, Chris Mattison, the world renowned photographer and author, photographed a wide selection of our frogs in the Vivarium. Many of the wonderful images he produced were used in our first frog exhibition ‘A World of Frogs’ and have also featured in a wealth of herpetological books and international features over the years. Unfortunately, also over the past fifteen years many amphibian populations have drastically declined and species have disappeared from areas where they once thrived in the wild. Areas of South and Central America have been particularly hard hit, with a changing climate and Chytrid fungus affecting many highland species, including Harlequin Toads of the Genus Atelopus.

Atelopus ignescens, (c) Chris Mattison

Both Chris and I have visited many places to see and photograph frogs during our careers and have experienced first-hand the effects of such drastic declines. For instance, in 1985 on his first trip to Ecuador, Chris found and photographed some black Atelopus ignescens toads on the Paramo of Ecuador, just north of Guaranda. He had been looking specifically for these toads, which are jet black above and orange below (pictured). He found them very easily – he tells me that upon getting out of his car he saw several, in broad daylight. Apparently they were everywhere.             But within a few years they had disappeared completely; none have been seen since 1989.

Photographs taken when capturing such unique moments become more precious with age, and looking back over them can bring memories flooding back of the first time you saw such an amazing creature in the flesh. I remember when Chris first saw and photographed our Costa Rican Lemur Leaf Frogs in the Museum, he was blown away with them. Then, they were still quite plentiful in the wild, but nowadays they are Critically Endangered and only known only from just 1 or 2 small breeding sites.

In a couple of weeks Chris will be returning to the Manchester Museum especially for our Wildlife Photography Course, which will provide others with a unique opportunity to see first hand and photograph for themselves some of the world’s rarest amphibians, including the Lemur Leaf Frog.

The course is now fully booked.

Here are just some of the species our participants will see and photograph:

• Splendid Leaf Frog (Cruziohyla calcarifer)
• Lemur Leaf Frog (Agalychnis lemur)
• Red-eyed Tree Frog (Agalychnis callidryas)
• Spurrell’s Leaf Frog, (Agalychnis spurrelli)
• Argentine Horned Frog (Ceratophrys ornata)
• Golden Poison-dart Frog (Phyllobates terribilis)
• Golden Mantella (Mantella aurantiaca)

VISIT CHRIS MATTISON’S NEW WEBSITE     MORE ABOUT ATELOPUS TOADS

Who could wish for more than seeing a child’s face light up when they suddenly realise they are holding a beautiful living creature, and that it kindles a unique spark of inspiration in that child’s mind.

The blog has now received over 87,000 hits, which is incredible. I so hope you have enjoyed the entries, and if you fancy a recap on the year, why not check out just some of the herpetological highlights covered in the links below. I also hope that we have made a real difference in the conservation work being done, and especially with the little ones, upon which the future of nature conservation really depends.

My wishes appear to have come true many times over this past year so I hope this one does too  -  a special wish to you and yours for a great Christmas time and New Year ahead!

Andrew

P.S. Why not brighten up your Christmas or New Year wishes by naming a colour and sending it as a Gift attachment for just £1

P.P.S. Many thanks for the gift Naomi – The Splendid leaf frog colour is now taken!

January:  BBC Human Planet

February: Supporting local groups

March: Hybrid Leaf Frog described/Conservation requirement of Costa Rican Lemur Leaf Frogs highlighted.

April: Vivarium Tours intiated

May: The Snakes of Corfu

June: Froglife Big Saturday

July: Gothic Gargoyles Geckos hatch

August: Poem Pleasure

September: Adam in Madagascar

October:  Costa Rica placement Student Rebecca Cliffe’s talk

November: A Friday Afternoon Trip

December: Leap in the right direction (Watch this talk here)

December 2011 Amphibian Ark newsletter here

Spurrell's Leaf Frog, photographed by Chris Mattison at The Manchester Museum

If you are really interested in Wildlife and Photography, live in the UK, and are perhaps struggling to find that ultimate treat or special Christmas present, then maybe we have the answer ….. a very special weekend spent with two Professional Herpetologists and the opportunity to really develop your photographic skills through personal one to one tuition. If this sounds good to you, then you might be interested to hear that The Manchester Museum has teamed up with one of the World’s Premier Herpetologists, Wildlife Writers, and Professional Photographers, Chris Mattison, to bring you an indulgent weekend of amazing amphibians and creative camerawork. Places are extremely limited as we aim to provide a personal learning experience and special weekend to remember for all. To find out more information and reserve an exclusive place please follow these links:

Book online for the Event at the Manchester Museum

Chris Mattison & the Photographic Workshop

Chris Mattison, Wildlife Photographer, Writer, & Herpetologist

You might also be interested in Chris’s latest Book “Frogs and Toads of the World” which was published in April 2011 by the Natural History Museum in London, and Princeton University Press in New Jersey.  With nearly 200 pages and over 200 photographs, there are ten chapters: Origins and classification; Size and shape, colour and markings; Interactions with the physical environment; Enemies and defence; Food and feeding; Reproduction; Life-cycles; Habitat and distribution; Frogs and man; and an account of the 49 families of frogs, describing their physical characteristics, where they live, and their natural history.

There are photographs of representative species of almost every family, as well as photographs showing behaviour, camouflage, life-cycles and so on. Some of the specimens featured are from the Vivarium at The Manchester Museum, including the beautiful Red-eyed Leaf Frog featured on the front cover!

FIND OUT MORE ABOT THE PHOTOGRAPHY COURSE HERE

FIND OUT MORE AND WATCH A RECENT FROG TALK AT THE MANCHESTER MUSEUM HERE

Last Friday afternoon Andrew and I visited Shore Green residential care home in Wythenshawe. Shore Green is an excellent forward thinking residential home for people living with dementia.

I have worked with Sally and Sophie, who manage the home, on a number of occasions taking a variety of objects from the museums collection into the home for the residents to handle and engage with.We always have an enjoyable visit, and to make things different for the residents Andrew brought along some live animals, including the Royal Python snake, an African Fat-tailed Gecko and the Crested Gecko.

Although some of the residents were reluctant to handle the live animals at first, they soon warmed to Andrew and his enthusiasm and all members of the group either held the animals or stroked them. Audrey was particularly taken with the snake and thought it would make a lovely pet – watch out Sally and Sophie for a pet request!  One of the touching comments of the afternoon from one of the residents was that she felt very privileged to be able to handle a snake and get close to the animals.The trip was so successful that it has prompted Sally and Sophie to organise a visit to the museum for the residents, and so we are really looking forward to welcoming the group into the museum in the New Year.

SPECIAL SESSIONS OFFERED

Panamanian Agalychnis annae, (c) Nadim Hamad

I thought you might be interested in some recent research papers I have been sent from friends and colleagues in Germany which relate to some interesting new fieldwork. These include work carried out in Panama which highlights a new discovery for the Yellow-eyed Leaf Frog, Agalychnis annae, and which extends its range out of Costa Rica for the very first time. Specimens from this population look absolutely spectacular (see the adult female pictured right) and they could turn out to be very different from those found in Costa Rica.

Hertz et al. (2011) Noteworthy amphibian records

Nguyen et al. (2011) Reptile diversity Cat Ba Archipelago

Geissler et al. (2011) Review Indochinese Lygosoma

Ziegler et al. (2011) Asian amphibian projects

Wildenhues et al. (2011) Rhacophorus orlovi

Ohler et al. (2011) Megophrys frogs of Northern Indochina

Everyone is welcome to attend the talk, which will be held in the Kanaris Theatre at The Manchester Museum between 1 – 2 pm.  Again, if you are a Manchester University staff member or student you might want to let your friends and colleagues know about this event and arrive early to avoid disappointment. If you are not associated with the University you are also extremely welcome to attend, there is no charge whatsoever.  The talk will also include live rare Leaf frogs from the Vivarium.

Previous talk in the Series          Conservation            Engagement             Research

Many Thanks to our Vivarium Volunteer Xaali for producing the fab poster above!

YOU CAN NOW WATCH THE TALK HERE!

In recent years, the conservation status of many of the world’s reptiles has been assessed, including a major project examining the reptiles of Madagascar. A troubling 40% of the country’s reptiles are threatened with extinction, with 22 species being assessed as Critically Endangered.

Ranitomeya benedicta, one of the first specimens ever photographed. (2006) Wouter Olthof (c)

Amphibians are currently one of the most threatened groups of animals and are closely monitored by the IUCN. This latest update sees 26 fairly recently discovered species added to the IUCN Red List, including the Vulnerable blessed poison frog, Ranitomeya benedicta (pictured) and the Endangered Summers’ poison frog Ranitomeya summersi.

Much of these species’ habitat is uninhabited and therefore deforestation is not a major threat. However, certain areas, particularly near the type localities, have been badly deforested since their initial discovery.  Fairly recently, many R. benedicta were smuggled illegally to Germany, although legal frogs  have become available in the US pet trade, and now captive-bred stock is also available from a reputable supplier in Europe.

Explore more threatened species on ARKive, supporting conservation through imagery.

Find out more about the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and this year’s update.

Join the discussion and add your input to the amphibian status assessments online.

Learn more about Dendrobatid frogs and the new taxonomic changes with Ranitomeya.

Read about committed poison dart-frog researchers and their successes in the field.

Find ethical frog suppliers such as Understory Enterprises & Peruvian Frog Imports.

Retrieve latest up-to-date information relating to amphibian biology and conservation.

Browse and explore amphibian Ex-situ conservation programmes by genus or country.