According to this article in yesterday’s Age we are in danger of losing some of our most helpful natural amphibians. Of the 220 species that reside in Australasia, 47 are now on the endangered list.

The corroboree frog is so scarce that scientists believe there may be no more than 50 individual frogs living in the wild. And they’re the lucky ones. It is estimated that possibly 165 of the world’s species may already have become extinct.

Recently, when trekking to a favourite camping spot, we noticed that the site had come under the local authority with signs informing us that area had now become a safe zone for a local frog. A little miffed, we assumed that it was just the government trying to control more land – and conspiracy theorists may still conclude that is the case. Yet, while us humans love to enjoy the outdoors it appears the outdoors no longer enjoys us.

The problem is that we’re using too much of their habitat. Areas that were once popular breeding grounds for these little amphibians have been filled in and developed for human dwellings. Our desire to get closer to nature is becoming the source of nature’s downfall.

But we shouldn’t beat ourselves up too much. Our frogs are also facing a more sinister foe in the form of a fungal disease known as Chytrid Fungus which still has no cure. The epidemic is threatening to wipe out many species unless something is done about it.

Fortunately, our scientists are coming together on this issue and announced 17 projects to help 14 different types of frog. Their coordinated efforts to curb the decline will result in many of these endangered frogs being bred in captivity and hopefully released back into the wild once the threat of disease has passed.

Fingers-crossed we may see the return of these very important amphibians into our ecosystems. Hopefully their numbers may also increase.