Fragile Frogs #4 – Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal, Botanical Garden, Montréal, Québec

As with all amphibians, frog populations are in decline all over the world. Habitat destruction, chemical pollution, deterioration of the ozone layer, as well as a certain disease caused by a fungus, called chytridiomycosis, all threaten the extinction of more than a third of the species.

The planet is home to approximately 4740 species of frogs. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, nearly 1900 frogs are endangered. Since 1980, close to 120 species of amphibians have become extinct. Normally, extinction threatens a species every 250 years.

In an effort to help save one frog, the Gopher frog, the Atlanta Botanical Garden began a program to reintroduce this animal into a protected area. There have been 2000 amphibians released into nature since 2007. The Gopher frog is also part of the work presented at Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal by the City of Atlanta. The Marsupial frog, Leopard frog and Lemur frog are also featured. The last one is a tree dweller.