# Panamanian Golden Frog Declared Extinct



## atlfrog

The Panamanian golden frog declared extinct by BBC Natural History crew
Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com February 4, 2008.

Old News probably, but might be New News to someone else.

I looked around and didn't see anyone post this, so if it is a double post I apologize. This is definitely an eye opener for those who don't know what's going on in regards to the decline of amphibian populations around the world.

The Panamanian golden frog declared extinct by BBC Natural History crew


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## frogparty

bummer. At least there is still a captive population in existence, but they will probably never re-enter the wild. Think about all the as of yet undescribed species we have yet to learn of that are facing the same plight... lost to the world forever. Maybe the panamanian gov. will allow some of the captive bred offspring to be distributed to other institutions now with the expressed purpose of showing folks what a technically extinct animal looks like. The sad thing is that chytrid has reached as far north as washington state and maybe beyond, and there seems to be no sign of a potential cure for it, besides treating every living amphibian with micatin. The consequences of losing amphibians from the world will be catastrophic. Such an important part of the food web to be lost, such a travesty.


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## zBrinks

Thank God that the Detroit Zoo, and other AZA institutions, have had such good luck breeding them.


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## Ed

frogparty said:


> bummer. At least there is still a captive population in existence, but they will probably never re-enter the wild. Think about all the as of yet undescribed species we have yet to learn of that are facing the same plight... lost to the world forever. Maybe the panamanian gov. will allow some of the captive bred offspring to be distributed to other institutions now with the expressed purpose of showing folks what a technically extinct animal looks like. The sad thing is that chytrid has reached as far north as washington state and maybe beyond, and there seems to be no sign of a potential cure for it, besides treating every living amphibian with micatin. The consequences of losing amphibians from the world will be catastrophic. Such an important part of the food web to be lost, such a travesty.


Chytrid was at least that far north in the 1960s. See Historical Evidence of Widespread Chytrid Infection in North American Amphibian Populations
MARTIN OUELLET*††, IGOR MIKAELIAN†, BRUCE D. PAULI‡, JEAN RODRIGUE§, AND DAVID M. GREEN Conservation Biology Volume 19 Issue 5, Pages 1431 - 1440
I tried to link to the abstract but the link wouldn't work. 

Ed


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## frogparty

So Ed, help me out here, chytrid problem was started by african frogs (xenopus?) used in hospitals for pregnancy tests escaping/being released from pet trade,right?


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## scream-aim-fire

i hate hearing about all the different frogs that are dieing left and right, and either becoming endangered or extinct.


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## Ed

frogparty said:


> So Ed, help me out here, chytrid problem was started by african frogs (xenopus?) used in hospitals for pregnancy tests escaping/being released from pet trade,right?


The honest answer is that this is still conjecture and there is some discussion still occuring on it.. but you have to keep in mind that the introduction of the disease doesn't have to necessarily have to occur via escapes and introductions as waste water is a potential source of infection. There is some disussion and speculation that the disease maybe synergistically working with enviromental contaminents (pesticides and herbicides) to make the amphibians more susceptiable to the disease. (see Frogblog2: Origin and spread of the frog chytrid :Cornell Mushroom Blog for a good discussion with references. 

As one potential example, dumping or running waste water into a garden or outside area.. 
or a lab flushing thier stuff into the sewage system and having a large rainstorm overload the system causing a discharge of untreated sewage into the waterways. 


Ed


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## atlfrog

Ed, is right. One theory that has been said by:

Deadly fungus linked to old pregnancy tests is systematically killing the world's amphibians.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 2008. 6 April 2008 

Frogs on the Brink of Extinction :: Saint Louis Zoo

Great article, but probably many different causes for amphibians decline.


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## ecvogel

If you read the 2 comments, some people claim they are still alive in the wild.


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## atlfrog

ecvogel said:


> If you read the 2 comments, some people claim they are still alive in the wild.


The article was from last year, so there could have been new discoveries or more updated information. I just thought people should be aware of this type of situation, as many people don't understand anything about conservation.


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## stitchb

atlfrog said:


> The article was from last year, so there could have been new discoveries or more updated information. I just thought people should be aware of this type of situation, as many people don't understand anything about conservation.


Soooo my question for everyone here is what should/can we do in the mean time to stop this problem from advancing and to stop other instances from occuring?


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## atlfrog

I know that there are some countries that have been quarantining areas to keep Chytrid from spreading to other areas. How affective that is I am unsure. Here's some sites on this issue around the world.

DPIW - Frog Disease - Chytrid Fungus

AdoptAPond

Panama Guide: Armageddon for amphibians? Frog-killing disease jumps Panama Canal

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1010,74360

There are so many more. Zoos and private groups are collecting different species that are seriously threatened so they can start breeding programs and also various of other projects to help stop the spread.


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## Julio

what happened to all the conservation efforts that were going on recently to preserve the wild population!


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## Ed

Through Panama it has been advancing at a steady rate every year. The quarantine is to prevent it from being moved to areas ahead of this region.. 

Ed


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