[johnc]

News from Frogforum.net. With all the emphasis here on tropical amphibians and their conservation, perhaps we should be equally concerned with species closer to home. It looks like we may be saying goodbye to the endangered Houston Toad: Endangered Houston Toad in Wildfire Disaster

 

[Woodsman]

The article says that they were "understandably overlooked" in the fire. WTF does that mean? Houses can be replaced, an extinct species cannot.

Thanks for the link, John.

Richard.

 

[johnc]

Understandably because authorities were worried about human lives and livelihoods first. I wrote that article and I was the first writer on the net to do so. I am quite familiar with the species and that county. As soon as i saw where the fire was i called some folks to get acreage info. Everybody else, including the big news networks like Reuters published after catching my news article. Texas Parks and Wildlife didn't talk about it until the day after I published.

Anyhow, it's virtually impossible to save a somewhat fossorial toad by collecting them at such short notice. It's not like Atelopus zeteki where you can see all the frogs walking around and grab them.

 

[ashb]

Bastrop isn't the only part of their range that is getting hit hard. From what I understand, places where the Houston Zoo releases individuals are within proximity of other wildfires right now, if not already in them. There isn't much anyone can do except wait until it's all over and look for surviving specimens.