NATIONAL NEWS - A conservation biologist from South Africa won a prestigious Whitley Award worth £40,000 (just over R900,000) to support her quest to save threatened amphibians on April 29.
Dr Jeanne Tarrant, locally known as the ‘Frog Lady’, works for the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) where she manages the Threatened Amphibian Programme. Jeanne was one of six conservationists to be recognised this year for their achievements in nature conservation, reports Bedfordview Edenvale News.
According to EWT’s communications manager Belinda Glenn, EWT is the only NGO in South Africa to include frogs as a conservation focus.
“The Whitley Awards, often referred to as ‘Green Oscars’, are awarded annually to individuals from the Global South by UK-based conservation charity called the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN),” said Glenn.
She said: “Our aim is to not only improve appreciation of frogs through research and education, but use our slippery friends as flagships for the wider conservation of vital freshwater and terrestrial areas that are under the increasing threat of humans.
“The fact that almost half of amphibians are experiencing declines should be a massive wake-up call to humanity that all is not right with our planet. Most people, however, are unaware that amphibians are even in trouble.”
Glenn added how amphibians are the most threatened group of animals on the planet with 41% of all species at risk of extinction.
Almost two-thirds of the country’s 135 frog species are found nowhere else, making South Africa a priority for amphibian conservation.
In some South African cultures, frogs can be associated with witchcraft, making them often feared by locals.
Tarrant’s educational work aims to dispel such myths and raise awareness and appreciation of the important role frogs play in the health of the environment and ecosystem.
The EWT’s national awareness Leap Day for Frogs has attracted some 15,000 participants over the past five years.
