Zoo Atlanta joins the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and zoological organizations around the world in celebrating the Year of the Frog!

Remarkably diverse in size, shape, color, and behavior, amphibians (frogs, toads, newts, salamanders and their relatives) have existed for 360 million years. Today, they exist on every continent on Earth except Antarctica; tomorrow, they might not exist anywhere. The Zoo is a proud part of the solution for saving an incredible class of animals from extinction.

We need amphibians …  

• Want to do a health check on an ecosystem? Check the amphibian population. Amphibians have highly permeable skins, so they’re unusually sensitive to pollution and contaminants in water and air, often at levels other animals can’t detect. The decline of amphibians in a particular area is often one of the first signs of an ecosystem in crisis.

• Amphibians help keep insect populations in check, and they do more than just cut down on those biting pests in our backyards. These built-in checks and balances also keep mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, yellow fever and West Nile virus from reaching epidemic proportions.

• Amphibians have already proved important to human health and medicine. Many have been discovered to carry antibiotic, analgesic and anti-tumor properties, not to mention anti-inflammatory chemicals and natural adhesives.

… and now, amphibians need us.

One third to one half of all amphibians face extinction – big trouble for an entire class of animals – and species are vanishing at the alarming rate of as many as 10 a year. The Year of the Frog is a campaign to expand awareness of amphibians and their habitats, increase research on the causes of their declines, and raise funds for field work, emergency response and captive assurance programs.

You can help!

• Party like it’s the Year of the Frog! Zoo Atlanta’s first-ever JAZZOO on Saturday, September 13 goes to the exclusive benefit of our amphibian conservation and research programs.

• Visit the Zoo’s amazing amphibians! See some of the world’s most stunningly beautiful frogs – alive and well in the lush brilliance of the Central American rainforest – hopping under timed tropical showers in the World of Reptiles. 

• If toads, frogs or other amphibians have taken up residence in your backyard, welcome them home and consider yourself lucky! Read more here (PDF) for tips from AZA on ways you can help native amphibians and protect their cousins around the world.