A Croak About Amphibians and Reptiles

Let's Croak About Frogs

I say "croak". Firstly, obviously, frogs croak so in some ways this is one of those awful, childishly cheesy puns that you see on the front of The Sun or something. Secondly, I AM croaky. I've just finished a day of volunteering at Howletts and spoke to so many people (I'm in the education department) that I am now croaking nearly as much as the animals I'm about to talk about. It was great, though. Although there were certainly no frogs involved (Howletts doesn't look after frogs) and it's Javan primate week (there were a lot of masks of gibbons and lutungs/langurs/leaf monkeys/whatever-you-want-to call-them being made in a variety of awesome colours!), I wanted to make this post about them. 

The Golden Mantella of Madagascar, highly
endangered, taken at Paignton Zoo

Everyone knows that I absolutely adore them. They've been around longer than any mammal or bird. The vertebrate evolutionary tree goes in its most simple terms from fish to amphibians to reptiles, which then branch off into mammals and birds, so in some ways we should respect them because they're our grandparents many, many, many times removed! There's also the way that amphibians can breathe through their skin (come on, who else can do that?) and when you look at reptiles, it seems to transport you to the Cretaceous period, when dinosaurs ruled the roost. Other people seem to think the same, too- the popularity of frogs, snakes, lizards, etc, as pets shows affection for them (although I will talk about the pet trade in a bit- and for every good reason, too). 

SPECIES IN THE UK

Here in the UK, we don't have a rich varety of amphibians and reptiles. But what we do have is absolutely special. We have a lot of beautiful snakes, as well as some stranger creatures such as slow-worms and newts. I have taken many photos of these special animals in the wild, and like I did with the butterfly blog, will showcase some photos. 

ADDER AND COMMON WALL LIZARD

Ringmore, South Devon

Sorry to disturb you...

Ringmore is a beautiful, small, tranquil village on the South Devon coastline, and my family know it very well (and have got to know it even better since I've started studying in nearby Plymouth!). Nearby is a cute little cliff walk which takes you to Ayrmer Cove. If the weather's good and it's been warm, keep your eyes peeled. There are plenty of adders around the place, sunbathing on the rock piles at the side of the path. It doesn't matter how many times you see them. It never gets boring. I love the way that their blood red eyes stare at you (probably thinking "WTF!?") as you get as close to them as you dare with your camera and for a closer look (be very careful, though. Adders are our only venomous snake, so use your common sense!).

If adders aren't your thing, we've seen this adorable lizard just inches away from the snakes. The picture on the right is a common wall lizard, and like the adders, likes to take advantage of the sunshine and warmth. Quietly taking in his surroundings, he didn't seem to mind that people were crowding around the adder rather than him (and didn't even scuttle away when they turned to him, instead!). As a picture below shows, around about a half of the 20cm length of this cute lizard is taken up by tail. They're found all over Europe; thankfully (touch wood a thousand times) they appear to be doing quite well in terms of population.If you see one, again, use your common sense. They're not venomous, but don't disturb them. 

That tail <3

SLOW WORM

The White Cliffs of Dover

Not a snake, not a worm!

The slow worm is a fascinating type of reptile. It looks like a snake, but in fact it's a legless lizard! It's also much smaller than a snake, and interestingly enough also has eyelids and ear openings (which a snake does not have), which are both lizard-y features. They can live to be twenty years old, and are found in a variety of habitats, from your back garden to heath. This one was found completely by surprise. My dad and I were just walking through some woods on the cliffs, and found it on the path. It seemed totally unphased as it just slithered from one side to another, into the greenery out of sight. 

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT BRITISH REPTILES

All reptiles in the UK are legally protected. It is illegal to intentionally kill, injure, sell or to advertise to sell one. 

PALMATE NEWT AND COMMON TOAD

Mount Edgecumbe, Cornwall

Not a reptile, an amphibian

It was mid-March, and two of my university friends (Ebony and George) and I decided to go to Mount Edgecumbe for the day. It's a half an hour walk from the uni to the little ferry that takes you across the Tamar to this little treasure of a place, so in Plymouth we feel lucky to have this literally on our doorstep.
This is about the time you'll see amphibians everywhere if you know where to look, as it's mating/breeding season. In one of the gardens, there was a large pond alive with mating toads, a few newts (like the palmate one on the left- I did get a few photos of a baby, but the quality wasn't great so I won't post them) and a few dead toads. While George was busy trying to feed a robin Quavers, I was knelt at the side of the pond, snapping away at the toads and newts, grinning away to myself. I had never seen a newt that big before, or so many wild toads in one place. 

Toads will rarely be around water unless it's the mating season, during which the females lay hundreds of eggs on the weeds. After about ten days, these eggs hatch into tadpoles, which then take about two months to metamorphose onto little toadlets. The newts are commonly found in Devon and Cornwall, especially Dartmoor, due to the nutrient-poor, acidic habitat.

Cheer up, mate!

The World's Amphibians and Reptiles

A Cuban crocodile naps at Paignton Zoo.
This species is critically endangered, along
with a huge list of crocodiles,
alligators and gavials

1 IN 3 AMPHIBIANS IS CONSIDERED TO BE THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION, AS WELL AS A FIFTH OF REPTILES

When people talk about reptiles and amphibians, they may conjure up a mental image of a steamy, humid rainforest on the equator, lit up by the neon skin of the dart frogs. Why shouldn't they? That's where the majority of them live, as well as the highest diversity of such creatures. Sadly, this diversity is hugely threatened. These animals, especially amphibians, are incredibly vulnerable to climate change, pollution, habitat loss, disease and have also been the victim of the pet trade. So many have been taken for us to have as pets that it's actually harmed their populations and made them vulnerable to extinction! It's not just the pets that actually make it into the tanks that have been siezed from the wild, as the majority of the poor animals would die in transportation, whether from stress, hunger or dehydration. The pet trade has also seen the spread of the deadly Chytridiomycosis virus which has been unforgiving. Infected frogs would be released by well-meaning pet owners, who released them to the wild (obviously unknowing of the harm they were about to do), passing the disease on to the healthy population. This disease is devastating. Reptiles are also victim to the pet trade, getting caught in fishing gear (especially turtles), hunting for their skin and habitat loss. 

HOW CAN I HELP THEM?

There are several things you can do to help amphibians and reptiles around the world. 

- Never buy any genuine reptile skin products

- Unless you are 100% certain and completely and utterly of where it has come from, don't buy one as a pet (however, it should be noted that even if you buy a species from legal sources, it can still encourage illegal trade elsewhere due to demand)

- Make your garden habitable for these beauties. The RSPB has a great set of ideas here http://www.rspb.org.uk/makeahomeforwildlife/advice/gardening/reptiles_amphibians/

- Don't use pesticides and herbicides. Amphibians in particular are very sensitive to chemicals.

- If you have a pet frog, DON'T release it into the wild. You may think you're giving your croaky friend a favour, but you're not, and you're certainly not helping the wild ones. 

FURTHER READING

Cold Blood- Richard Kerridge 

http://www.savethefrogs.com/how-to-help/

http://www.amphibianark.org/the-crisis/what-can-i-do-to-help/