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- Author, Helen Briggs
- Rolle, environmental correspondent
- Twitter, @hbriggs
4 hours ago
Credit, JEANNE D’ARC PETNGA
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Cedric Fogwan holds one of the recordbreaking Goliath frogs
When Cedrick Fogwan first saw a giant frog, he was quite struck by its proportions.
Goliath frogs can grow to the size of a cat and are thought to be the world’s largest anurans the amphibian order that includes toads, frogs and tree frogs.
It’s almost like holding a (human) baby, he says, which one of them carried on a rescue mission.
The Cameroonian conservationist was so fascinated that he launched a project to fight for the future of the endangered species.
“When I found out that this species was unique the largest in the world I said it was something you couldn’t find anywhere else, and I was proud of that,” he says.
“People in the area say they’re blessed to have something like this; they give it cultural value.”
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Goliath frogs can grow as large as house cats, up to 32 cm long and over 3.25 kg
For decades, the goliath frog has been overhunted for food and the pet trade in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, the two countries where it occurs.
Their habitat along rivers and streams is being rapidly destroyed and the amphibian is now classified as vulnerable.
Little is known about the frog in science, and even in Cameroon, many are unaware of its value to the ecosystem — one of its functions is preying on insects that damage crops.
Credit, JEANNE D’ARC PETNGA
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The frog lives next to streams where it moves rocks to build its nests.
The conservation team is working to convince hunters to become citizen scientists and record the frogs’ locations instead of using them for food.
They also work with local groups to help set up a snail farm to provide an alternative food source.
The conservation work is beginning to pay off as goliath frogs are returning to new rivers in the Mount Nlonako Reserve off the coast of Cameroon.
A call from a former hunter reporting that a neighbor had caught a frog was a turning point for the project. Cedric managed to save the animal and return it to the wild.
“I think we can have it forever and we can be proud of it,” he says.
The Goliath Frog Rescue Project is supported by the Conservation Leadership Program (CLP) administered by Fauna & Flora International, BirdLife International and the Wildlife Conservation Society.