• Who is Amphibian Ark? You are! We all are!
  •  
  • Species Prioritization in Hong Kong and Guandong Province
  •  
  • Amphibian husbandry and conservation workshop in Thailand
  •  
  • Amphibian gene banking
  •  
  • Amphibian petition update
  •  
  • Visitors to the Amphibian Ark web site
  •  
  • Updates from the Amphibian Conservation Program at the Atlanta Botanical Garden
  •  
  • Conservation Strategy for Costa Rican Amphibians - Implementation Actions
  •  
  • Activities within ARAZPA institutions
  •  
  • An update from AZA
  •  
  • EAZA update
  •  
  • Nordens Ark creates its own Amphibian Ark
  •  
  • News from PAAZAB zoos
  •  
  • South Asia Amphibian Ark Summer Alert Program
  •  
  • Save the Planet, Save the Frogs. For Fowler Printing, green comes in many colors
  •  
  • "Never Kiss a Frog - Save One Instead!" ToadBags for Real Frogs and Human Ones
  •  
    Sent to you courtesy of:

    The AArk Team

    Kevin Zippel
    KevinZ@AmphibianArk.org
    Program Director

    Kevin Johnson
    KevinJ@AmphibianArk.org
    Taxon Officer

    Richard Gibson
    Richard@AmphibianArk.org
    Taxon Officer

    Robert Browne
    Robert@AmphibianArk.org
    Research Officer

     

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    Newsletter Number 4, August 2008

    The Amphibian Ark team is pleased to send you the latest edition of our e-newsletter. We hope you enjoy reading it.
     
    News
    Who is Amphibian Ark? You are! We all are!
    Kevin Zippel, Amphibian Ark

    The AArk as we know it today is a mere 10% of what it needs to be in order for us to save all the amphibian species that need us. We can all agree, that is simply not good enough. So I charge you, please carry your AArk umbrella with pride!


    Species Prioritization in Hong Kong and Guandong Province
    Kevin Johnson, Amphibian Ark

     Twenty-two participants gathered at Ocean Park in Hong Kong on May 22nd for the start of a two-day amphibian workshop. The two main aims of the workshop were to present a series of papers outlining some of the amphibian conservation activities that are currently underway in Hong Kong and Guangdong Province, and to attempt to prioritize all amphibian species from the two places.


    Amphibian husbandry and conservation workshop in Thailand
    Michael McFadden, Taronga Conservation Society Australia

    In order to increase the capabilities of zoos worldwide to conserve amphibians, it has been recognised that first we must build capacity in regions where the expertise is not currently available. In order to achieve this, Amphibian Ark has organised a number of amphibian husbandry workshops.


    Amphibian gene banking
    Robert Browne, Amphibian Ark

    The Amphibian Ark is establishing a global network of gene banks for amphibians. These gene banks will preserve amphibian genetic variation for at least hundreds of years.


    Amphibian petition update
    Peter Dollinger, WAZA and Kevin Johnson, Amphibian Ark

    Amphibian Ark has established a petition, calling on the politicians and parliaments of the world to commit resources for urgent global action to rescue frogs and other amphibians. Signatories on the petition support the zoos and aquariums of the world, which are carrying out public awareness, conservation breeding, and habitat protection. 


    Visitors to the Amphibian Ark web site
    Kevin Johnson, Amphibian Ark
    The Amphibian Ark web site continues to receive a high number of visitors, and since the beginning of the year, the site has received just over 202,000 page views.

    Updates from the Amphibian Conservation Program at the Atlanta Botanical Garden
    Ron Gagliardo, Atlanta Botanical Garden

    In honor of the Amphibian Ark 2008 Year of the Frog, we are pleased to share with you some notable updates from the Amphibian Conservation Program at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.


    Conservation Strategy for Costa Rican Amphibians - Implementation Actions
    Yolanda Matamoros, AMACZOOA

    A number of activities have been underway in Mesoamerica lately, focussing on implementing the Conservation Strategy for Costa Rican Amphibians.


    Activities within ARAZPA institutions
    compiled by Kevin Johnson, ARAZPA

    A number of ARAZPA member institutions have been very active with various Year of the Frog activities. The following reports outline some of the initiatives and events that have taken place over the last few months in the region.


    An update from AZA
    Shelly Grow, AZA

    AZA's Shelly Grow gives an update on some of the activities that AZA members have been invloved with.


    EAZA update
    Richard Gibson, Chester Zoo and Naomi Webster, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

    Most EAZA members started their Year of the Frog Campaign activities in the spring. As a result the first campaign funds are now coming into the EAZA Amphibian Conservation Fund.


    Nordens Ark creates its own Amphibian Ark
    Dr. Claes Andrén, Nordens Ark and Dr. Lena M Lindén, Amphibian Ark and Nordens Ark

    Nordens Ark is prepared for a long-term commitment to save endangered Swedish and exotic amphibians, and recently opened a new amphibian exhibit.


    News from PAAZAB zoos

    Three PAAZAB members, Johannesburg Zoo, Two Oceans Aquarium and the National Zoo of South Africa, have initiated a number of projects associated with the Year of the Frog.


    South Asia Amphibian Ark Summer Alert Program
    Rengasamy Marimuthu, Zoo Outreach Organisation

    The Zoo Outreach Organisation prepared special, easy-to-implement amphibian education materials to inaugurate South Asia’s AArk Summer Alert with some activity in accordance with World Environment Day 2008.


    Save the Planet, Save the Frogs. For Fowler Printing, green comes in many colors
    Steve Brennan

    Fowler Printing & Graphics, based in Randolph, Massachusetts is one of Amphibian Ark's corporate partners, and has very generously helped us in the past with complimentary printing of thousands of full-color brochures about AArk and the global amphibian crisis. These brochures have been distributed around the world, helping to promote awareness of the crisis.


    "Never Kiss a Frog - Save One Instead!" ToadBags for Real Frogs and Human Ones
    Marilyn Anderson

    In honor of "2008 Year of the Frog," Marilyn Anderson, author of "Never Kiss a Frog: A Girl’s Guide to Creatures from the Dating Swamp", has partnered with Amphibian Ark, to create specially designed ToadBags™ with the slogan, "Never Kiss a Frog - Save One Instead!"