THE SCOTSMAN (Edinburgh, UK) 01 January 08 How Mickey Mouse could save gold frog (Lindsay McIntosh)
With its bold orange or red skin and big black eyes, the tiny golden mantella frog, below, is a natural for a starring role in a Disney cartoon.
But instead of recruiting the critically endangered amphibian, the movie giant is spending £9,000 to protect its rainforest home.
Researchers – including an Aberdeen University scientist – have discovered two new populations of the golden mantella in its native Madagascar.
Now Dr Richard Jenkins and his team are working to raise the "enigmatic and colourful" frog's profile, secure its habitat and figure out a way it can help generate funds for the area's impoverished locals.
And they have managed to get the movie giant to help, in the guise of the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund.
The amphibian's habitat is depleting at a worrying rate, mainly because of forest fires and clearing. There was once a thriving pet trade, with 30,000 being exported annually, but a ban has now been imposed.
The species is categorised as "critically endangered" on the World Conservation Union's "red list" of threatened creatures. There are thought to be fewer than 20 populations, but inconclusive research means that figure could be even lower.
And although efforts are being made to declare sections of Madagascar conservation areas, the species' home territory has so far missed out. "I think it's because, in the grand scheme of things, frogs are still quite far down the charts," Dr Jenkins said. "Inevitably, if people plan to protect a forest, they make sure they have a set of threatened animals and birds and plants. You want to maximise your protected species for your investment. But if you do that, there are always a few animals that slip through the net.
"What we are finding with the frog is some areas where it still occurs are very degraded. Alternatively, it exists in small fractions of the rainforest and they would never attract the attention of an organisation which wanted to conserve a big park.
"One of our aims is to get the most important sites for the frog into the national process for protected-area conservation, to help secure the sites in the long term."
To do this, the team need to "increase the profile" of the golden mantella and educate locals about its rarity and importance. "There's no way anyone can hope to protect the habitat unless it's done with the co-operation of the local communities," Dr Jenkins said.
"The frog has been threatened for many, many years but there's not been any specific conservation project. It's been neglected."
Habitat Loss Endangers Amphibian
The golden mantella frog is found only in Madagascar.
Restricted to a small area of rainforest near the eastern town of Moramanga, there are fewer than 20 populations.
The species is popular amongst hobbyists and in 1998 more than 30,000 were exported.
However, an effective export ban is now in place as the frog is so endangered.
Although there has not been much research done on the topic, it is believed that the trade is not jeopardising the population. Instead, loss of habitat is thought to be to blame.
The frog's scientific name is Mantella aurantiaca. It is about an inch long and has bright orange, red or yellow skin.
The colour seems to be protective by being similar to other toxic species – although the golden mantella is not itself poisonous.
Its eyes are black and some of its number have red marks on the inner side of their back legs.
It has short legs with adhesive discs on its fingers and toes, but unlike many amphibians, it does not have webbed feet.
How Mickey Mouse could save gold frog

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