大象传媒

World's largest frog: Group work to save goliath frog from extinction

Cedrick Fogwan holding a goliath frogImage source, JEANNE D'ARC PETNGA
Image caption,

Cedrick Fogwan started a project to save the giant frogs

The frogs you find at the bottom of the garden can be tricky to hold because of how much they hop around, but goliath frogs would probably be trickier... because they're enormous!

The species - also known as giant slippery frog - is the biggest on Earth and can reach the size of a small cat!

They are endangered and for decades they've been hunted for food and the pet trade.

Now Cedrick Fogwan, a conservationist from Cameroon in Africa, has set up a project to save the species and said "I believe we can have it forever and we can continue to be proud of it."

Image source, Cedrick Fogwan
Image caption,

Cedrick says the conservation team has already seen some progress

In the wild, goliath frogs are found by rivers and streams in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, but experts say their population has decreased by around 70 per cent in the last 15 years.

The team which hopes to protect them, is trying to persuade hunters to keep a record of when they see them rather than use them for food.

They are also working to help set up snail farms, so people can eat them instead.

What does endangered mean?

Endangered means a species is at a very high risk of becoming extinct in the wild

Find out more

Image source, Jeanne d'arc Petnga
Image caption,

The frog lives by streams and rivers

Goliath frogs are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and other animals.

They can be as long as 34cm and weigh more than 3kg! Scientists think they might have evolved to get such a large body because of the way they nest.

They create their homes in streams and rivers and this involves moving heavy rocks up to 2kg in weight - so they need to be big.

If the goliath frog feels threatened or scared, they try to escape by jumping into water and can hop along the surface as far as 3.5m.

On land, they don't move as easy, they can get tired after just a few jumps.