AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION 02 February 05 Frogs and bananas (Glen Johnson)
Presenter: Jonathan Wright, Researcher: Allison Jess
What do bananas & green tree frogs have in common?
Summer is a busy time of the year for the "lost frogs home". Glen Johnson from the Department of Sustainability and Environment says a high number of species; particularly frogs, are making their way south
"They are what we term banana box frogs. They are a green tree frog from up North and they are part of a troop of animals which routinely make their way down as stowaways. They are the quintessential hitchhiker of the supermarket trade.. they come down with fruit particularly bananas and they are a common occurrence in our area (North East Victoria).."
"Just with the Melbourne markets there is an estimated 6 to 8 thousand of these frogs. There is probably around 3 to 4 species of tree frog. Most of them are that typical green frog that we have the image of .. it's probably not restricted to frogs, there are reptiles as well.."
"Most of these things are tropical species and they wont really survive the first winter.. of more concern is that these things have often got potential diseases that they are carrying and there is the potential, if they are released in the wild, to contribute to that disease spread with our native frogs down this neck of the woods.."
"So we send them down to what is termed the A.R.C, the Amphibian Research Centre, which is an organisation in Melbourne and they go through a quarantine process to ensure the frogs are clean and safe and ultimately released back into a pet trade.. the lost frogs home is a pretty active place over this summer period.."
Frogs and bananas