E06 - The frogs that checked into a hotel: Panama's first amphibian rescue center, 20 years on

In Episode 6 of Amphibian Rescue, we travel to El Valle de Antón, in central Panama, to hear the rescue story of the Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki)—a species so beloved it appears on countless souvenirs and has had its own National Day since 2010. Yet its popularity did not prevent the species from disappearing from El Valle. But there's hope for the golden frog.

Edgardo Griffith, founder and president of the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center (EVACC), takes us back to how it all began. In the early 2000s, golden frogs were being collected from the streams in El Valle and sold at the Sunday market for as little as 25 cents. Then the chytrid fungus arrived in Panama, and there was no local ex situ facility ready. Edgardo mobilized to get these frogs checked into a hotel: two rented rooms that became a quarantine room and a clean room, and stayed that way for over 14 months while the facilities were being built in a local zoo.

Twenty years later, EVACC cares for more than 30 local amphibian species, and has now built its first outdoor enclosures to start preparing some of those frogs for the day they can go back into the wild. What has to happen before that day comes? And what does it take to fulfill Edgardo's promise to the frogs?

Support Amphibian Ark: https://www.amphibianark.org/support-us/

About our guest:

Edgardo Griffith is the president and founder of the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center (EVACC) in El Valle de Antón, Panama. He has worked in both in situ and ex situ amphibian conservation for more than 20 years, including with Project Golden Frog and helping establish Panama's first amphibian rescue facility, which led to the foundation of EVACC, and he has led it ever since. Today, EVACC operates as an independent Panamanian NGO that you can visit in El Valle de Antón!

Find out more about EVACC on their website: https://www.evaccfoundation.org/

Follow EVACC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evaccfoundation

About the podcast

Amphibian Rescue is produced and hosted by María Braeuner, with original music by Pablo Bolaños | Biota Specimens.

Episodes are reviewed and fact-checked by the Amphibian Ark team of experts: Luis Carrillo, Devin Edmonds, Renata Ibelli Vaz, Jonathan Wilcken, Cybele Lisboa, Elizabeth Townsend, María José Chang, and Beatriz Velásquez.

Cover image of this episode: © N. Nehring | Getty Images

Intro and outro video footage by © Jaime Culebras

Other photos and videos used in Episode 6 © EVACC Foundation, Devin Edmonds, N. Nehring | Getty Images, Mabelin Santos | Getty Images, Diario La Prensa Panama

The podcast is made possible thanks to the continued support of Amphibian Ark donors and partners around the world.

Together, we can continue rescuing amphibians in crisis.

E05 – A somewhat accidental amphibian rescue story from Madagascar

In Episode 5 of Amphibian Rescue, we travel to the forests of eastern Madagascar to follow the story of the Golden Mantella (Mantella aurantiaca)—a somewhat accidental rescue, and a reminder of how much it matters to be prepared.

Dr. Devin Edmonds (Amphibian Ark) and Nasoavina Christin (Association Mitsinjo) take us behind the scenes of Madagascar's first amphibian conservation breeding center, in Andasibe. What began as an effort to build insurance colonies of common frog species—mainly to be ready in case the chytrid fungus ever reached Madagascar—became something else entirely when a mining company came knocking, looking for someone to rescue the threatened Golden Mantella before its habitat was cleared.

It turned out the team was (almost) ready for a threat they never saw coming. Where are they now? And what does the future look like for the Golden Mantella?

Support Amphibian Ark: https://www.amphibianark.org/support-us/

About our guests:

Dr. Devin Edmonds is Amphibian Ark's Program Director for Africa and South Asia. He worked with Mitsinjo for over six years, where he helped launch the country's first amphibian conservation breeding facility, helped establish monitoring programs for Andasibe's amphibians, and collaborated on action plans for threatened species. Devin has over a decade of experience in amphibian conservation and research.

Nasoavina Christin is the President of Association Mitsinjo, a project manager across several of Mitsinjo's projects, and a seasoned ecotourism guide.

About the podcast

Amphibian Rescue is produced and hosted by María Braeuner, with original music by Pablo Bolaños | Biota Specimens.

Episodes are reviewed and fact-checked by the Amphibian Ark team of experts: Luis Carrillo, Devin Edmonds, Renata Ibelli Vaz, Jonathan Wilcken, Cybele Lisboa, Elizabeth Townsend, María José Chang, and Beatriz Velásquez.

Cover image and intro and outro video footage by © Jaime Culebras

Videos and photos of the Golden Mantella by Devin Edmonds.

Audio file for Mantella aurantiaca downloaded from AmphibiaWeb with permission of the author and copyright holder: Vences, M., F. Glaw & R. Marquez (2006, editors): The Calls of the Frogs of Madagascar. 3 Audio CDs and booklet, 44 pp. Barcelona, Alosa.

The podcast is made possible thanks to the continued support of Amphibian Ark donors and partners around the world.

Together, we can continue rescuing amphibians in crisis.

E04 – How they brought the Corroboree frogs back from the brink

In Episode 4 of Amphibian Rescue, we travel to the Australian Alps to explore a successful and long-standing rescue effort to save the Southern and Northern Corroboree frogs.

Michael McFadden, Wildlife Conservation Officer at Taronga Conservation Society Australia, takes us inside more than two decades of work to prevent the extinction of these tiny, striking black-and-yellow species that have been pushed to the brink by chytrid fungus.

We explore how scientists and conservationists built insurance populations from eggs collected in the wild, learned how to breed a uniquely challenging species, and developed innovative strategies to return frogs to their habitat. From refrigerated shipping containers turned into alpine frog facilities, to disease-free exclosures acting as bridges between captivity and the wild, to ultimately...yelling at frogs?

Along the way, we also look at the challenges that remain—from climate change and wildfires to the ongoing fight against chytrid—and the emerging genetics and biotech research that could help these frogs survive in the long term.

Support Amphibian Ark: https://www.amphibianark.org/support-us/

About our guest:

Michael McFadden BSc (Hons), PhD Candidate, is a Wildlife Conservation Officer at Taronga Conservation Society Australia and Supervisor of the Herpetofauna division at Taronga Zoo.

He has worked on amphibian conservation for over 20 years, focusing on conservation breeding, reintroduction biology, and population management for some of Australia’s most endangered frog species, including the Southern and Northern Corroboree frogs, Booroolong frog, and Yellow-spotted Bell frog.

Michael is co-convenor of the Zoo and Aquarium Association Amphibian TAG, contributes to multiple recovery teams, and has published more than 30 scientific articles and book chapters. He has also supported Amphibian Ark by helping deliver amphibian conservation training workshops across Australasia.

About the podcast

Amphibian Rescue is produced and hosted by María Braeuner, with original music by Pablo Bolaños | Biota Specimens.

Episodes are reviewed and fact-checked by the Amphibian Ark team of experts: Luis Carrillo, Devin Edmonds, Renata Ibelli Vaz, Jonathan Wilcken, Cybele Lisboa, Elizabeth Townsend, María José Chang, and Beatriz Velásquez.

Cover image and intro and outro video footage by © Jaime Culebras

Other photos and videos used in Episode 4 © Michael McFadden & Taronga Conservation Society Australia.

The podcast is made possible thanks to the continued support of Amphibian Ark donors and partners around the world.

Together, we can continue rescuing amphibians in crisis.