WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL (Madison, Wisconsin) 28 December 05 Zoo's new amphibian exhibit shows off threatened creatures (Sandra Kallio)
You don't have to be a meteorologist to predict a thunderstorm at Vilas Zoo, where flickering lightning and distant thunder build to a crashing, flashing storm each noon in the Discovery Center.
Children viewing the center's new amphibian exhibit may be startled, but the tropical plants and the poison dart, glass, tree and rain frogs from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru will feel right at home.
While Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk invited media for a sneak peek Tuesday, the exhibit won't open to the public until Saturday - from 6 to 9 p.m. during the U.S. Bank Eve celebration. New Year's Eve will be one of the few times zoo-goers can see the moonlight feature of the exhibit, which also simulates sunrise and sunset for its inhabitants.
"Besides seeing these beautiful, endangered little creatures, kids can learn about their biology and habitat," Falk said.
Above the terrarium, two flat- screen TVs will display related educational slide shows and videos.
Besides explaining the endangered world of amphibians, Vilas Zoo is doing more to preserve frogs through a project tucked off the exhibit in a low- ceilinged room smaller than a Parade of Homes closet. There, zookeeper Erik Anderson opens small terrariums like a jeweler unlocking cases of precious diamonds. The only thing Anderson is selling, however, is an urgent message about his gems.
"Today, amphibians are the most endangered species of animals," he said, listing habitat destruction, pollution and a new disease spreading through amphibian populations around the world as the greatest threats to their existence. "That disease, of course, doesn't respect park borders," he said, explaining why conservationists can't simply set aside land on which to save amphibians.
What they can do is what Vilas Zoo has begun as a partner with the Atlanta Botanical Garden and Zoo Atlanta, which have donated plants and loaned frogs not necessarily for exhibits but for "captive assurance colonies."
"What we're trying to do is trying to have reproduction of species in captivity so that if we do lose them in the wild, there's an option," Anderson said.
Anderson is proud of the tiny babies growing in the zoo's new amphibian-breeding habitat. Visitors invited for behind- the-scenes tours can see - actually see through - the glass frogs. They are a green so translucent that their bright red blood vessels can be traced. Anyone lucky enough to spot eggs wouldn't need an ultrasound to see embryos.
Holding a rare Gastrotheca cornuta frog from Panama, Anderson said: "A lot of frogs have unusual reproductive strategies." This one, for example, is a marsupial frog.
"The females have a pouch on their backs. When the eggs are laid, they go in the pouch and hatch out as young froglets."
Another very rare breed - a speckled tan frog that's a canopy dweller - lays its eggs in tree holes, so Anderson has provided a tree hole of sorts in that terrarium. Judging by the eggs inside, the habitat suits that frog. Offering an example of amphibian parental care, Anderson explained that these frogs will return to the tree hole to lay more eggs for the tadpoles to eat until they're old enough for the usual larvae diet of insects.
To stock his amphibian pantry, Anderson said, "I raise house flies. Any species of insects you can think of as a pest, I raise it and feed it to the frogs."
The amphibians' captive diet is the reason he can handle the most toxic animals in the world - poison dart frogs from Colombia - without concern for ill effects. Without the right species of ants to eat, these frogs lose their toxic ability.
But they do retain their toxic attitude. Unlike crowned tree frogs that blend with brown bark and the glass frogs that meld with green leaves, the bright yellow tree frogs aren't afraid to show their colors to potential predators.
A zookeeper for 10 years, Anderson has been learning so much about amphibians that his boss, zoo director Jim Hubing, refers to him as an international expert, a title Anderson is quick to dismiss. There is much that no one knows about frogs, including those thriving in the 20-plus terrariums he tends.
"This is a tree frog that's possibly a new species," Anderson said, never flinching when the large green frog leaps onto his cheek.
Although the big and the colorful frogs are more impressive, the most rare frog he has is a thumbnail-sized brown frog that will grow to an inch or so long.
Asked how many of these or other endangered frogs are left in the wild, Anderson hesitates.
"A lot of people don't know," he said.
Surveying a rainforest for amphibians is not like counting sandhill cranes in the Baraboo hills in spring.
"They are difficult to find and can vary with the season. There are a lot of frogs that haven't been seen for five to 10 years. Do we label them extinct, or are there still some out there?"
As a conservationist, he's concerned about threats to tigers, right whales and any other endangered species. But he stresses the difference with amphibians: "Here, we're talking about an entire class of animals bordering on extinction."
http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/top/index.php?ntid=66638&ntpid=1
CAPITAL TIMES (Madison, Wisconsin) 28 December 05 A rain forest for the frogs - Vilas creates unique habitats for endangered creatures (Bill Novak)
Photo: Teddy Kluesner, 4, of Waunakee looks at the tropical thunderstorm, part of the new amphibian exhibit at the Henry Vilas Zoo. (Michelle Stocker)
The Henry Vilas Zoo is going to the frogs, in a very "ribbiting" exhibit opening New Year's Eve.
The new amphibian exhibit in the zoo's Discovery Center shows about a dozen frog species from South and Central American rain forests, with three unique habitats totally climate-controlled, down to the smallest detail of adjusting the lighting to mimic the conditions in a rain forest as the sky changes from dawn to dusk.
The $70,000 permanent exhibit is the only one of its kind in the United States, said zoo Director Jim Hubing.
"This very unique exhibit meets a vitally important conservation need," Hubing said. "These magnificent animals are vanishing at an alarming rate because they are losing their habitat."
The frogs at the zoo aren't only on display, they are also being used as breeding stock, so endangered species can be maintained, even if it's behind glass. The Henry Vilas Zoo is working with Zoo Atlanta and the Atlanta Botanical Garden in a global initiative to save the endangered amphibians.
The new exhibit will open for the first time on New Year's Eve as part of the U.S. Bank Eve activities. The zoo will also have other activities that night throughout the grounds.
The frogs on display are in three different habitats connected by water, with the climate in each precisely controlled by computers.
"We've got poison dart frogs, a marsupial tree frog and one called the bird dropping tree frog, who is perfectly camouflaged, looking exactly like it has bird droppings on it," Hubing said.
Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk gave a sneak peek to the new exhibit Tuesday, and demonstrated the capability of the computer-controlled weather system by becoming Mother Nature as she "produced" a thunderstorm. The simulated rain forests get five misting rain showers each day, with a little thunder and lightning thrown in for good measure just so the little fellas feel more at home.
"The public, especially children, will learn a lot and have fun with this exhibit," Falk said. "Besides seeing these beautiful, endangered little creatures, kids can learn about their biology and habitat."
Hubing said each distinct habitat in the exhibit represents the specific rain forest conditions found in Suriname, Costa Rica and Panama, with frogs also coming from Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Tropical freshwater fish and shrimp from Peru round out the exhibit.
The exhibit, which includes plants from South and Central America, were built by Variance Intelligent Habitat Systems and are being maintained by zookeeper Erik Anderson.
The zoo, located at 702 S. Randall Ave., is open every day of the year from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and exhibit buildings are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., except for special events such as the New Year's Eve festivities.
And, as always, the zoo has no admission fee.
Party With Frogs: What: The new amphibian exhibit will be open to the public from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday during the New Year's Eve celebration sponsored by U.S. Bank. It will be one of the few times that visitors to the Henry Vilas Zoo can see the exhibit's moonlight feature.
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