April is National Frog Month to honor the amphibians we call frogs. Of course we’re going to celebrate at NPC!
This month, you can expect information on these primitive creatures. To start the celebration we’ll cover some frog basics. Frogs typically live in moist environments and undergo metamorphosis from larvae to adults. All of our native frogs begin life from eggs that are laid in water and progress through an aquatic tadpole (larval) stage during which they do not have legs finally transforming into adults which may spend much of their life on dry land but always need to keep their skin at least somewhat moist. Adult frogs normally spend the colder months buried in the mud at the bottom of ponds or other wetlands.
Worldwide frogs are in trouble as their populations are being decimated by a chytrid fungus, although not all species or individuals within a species are equally susceptible to the disease. There is no known treatment or cure for the disease and it appears to be spreading into new areas. To learn more about the fungus visit this Wikipeida page.