WINNIPEG SUN (Manitoba) 08 May 05 Up for some frog hunting? - Project to pinpoint green frogs (Dean Pritchard)

How's your "ribbit" radar?

Conservation officials are looking for some help tracking down green frogs in Manitoba's remote backcountry.

The frog is common in eastern Canada but relatively rare in Manitoba. The only confirmed habitat is in Nopiming Provincial Park, where it was first spotted in the 1930s.

"They could be in the Whiteshell, or further north, or even further west but nobody has detected them," said Helios Hernandez, an ecological reserve specialist with Manitoba Conservation.

"We are trying to get a handle on where these frogs might exist to get an idea of their distribution in the province and determine whether we've got some of their habitat protected or whether we need to set aside another area."

The province is looking for rural volunteers willing to spend a couple of weeks in June, hiking in the early morning hours, keeping an ear open for the frog's distinctive song, described by some as sounding like a loose banjo string being plucked.

"It's not your typical croak or chirp that you hear from other species of frogs," Hernandez said, adding the frog's song can be downloaded from the Internet.

"You don't need to be an expert frog person, you just need to be able to distinguish different types of sounds."

Conservation staff tried a frog survey last summer but it was a bust, Hernandez said.

"It was very windy and wet and cold and the frogs may have been reluctant to get up just like us," he said.

Volunteers interested in taking part in the frog survey can contact Kelly-Anne Richmond at 945-4040.
Up for some frog hunting? - Project to pinpoint green frogs

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