Conservationists
are celebrating the establishment of a new nature reserve in Colombia that
provides the first sanctuary for the endangered Golden Poison Frog, an animal that also has the distinction of
being possibly the world’s deadliest animal.
In one of the
wettest tropical rainforests in the world, along the Pacific coast of western Colombia, World
Land Trust, American Bird Conservancy, and Global Wildlife Conservation have
helped purchase 124 acres of threatened Chocó forest, creating the Rana
Terribilis Amphibian Reserve named for the Spanish word for frog – rana – and
the frog’s Latin name Phyllobates terribilis. The reserve is owned and managed
by Fundación ProAves, Colombia’s leading conservation
organization. This is the second amphibian reserve owned by ProAves in Colombia – the
first is the Ranita Dorada Reserve.
This frog is
named because of its bright orange skin that is covered by a secretion of
deadly alkaloid poison (batrachotoxins). The toxin prevents nerves from transmitting
impulses, leaving muscles in a constant state of contraction – leading to heart
failure. Death comes within minutes.
The species has
long been recognized by indigenous cultures for its lethal poison and is
strongly embedded within cultural traditions. The Chocó Emberá Indians use the
frog’s toxin as poison in their darts used to hunt food; by gently brushing the
tips of arrows and darts on the frogs back, without harming it, the weapons can
keep their deadly effect for over two years.
The frog’s poison
is entirely for self-defense, yet it does little to help its chances of
survival against its single biggest threat – bulldozers. Habitat damage and
destruction continues to escalate due to illegal gold-mining (an
estimated 100 bulldozers and excavators are destroying the area), and illegal
logging.
Despite this
frog’s infamous reputation and its importance to indigenous cultures, it is
considered by many to be on the edge of extinction, and until now the species
was completely unprotected. Dependent on primary forest, the golden poison frog
occurs patchily across an area less than the size of the tiny Caribbean island of Barbados. Due to its restricted
range and low population, the frog was added to the list of some of the world’s
most imperiled creatures identified by the Alliance for Zero Extinction.
Notably, the
reserve will also afford protection for several key bird species, including the
endangered Baudó Guan, a medium-sized game fowl whose worldwide population is
estimated at 10,000-20,000 individuals; the vulnerable Brown Wood-Rail, a
medium-sized, mostly rufous-brown rail whose population is estimated to be
between only 1,000 and 2,500 individuals; and the vulnerable Great Curassow, a
large, pheasant-like bird whose population is estimated to be between 10,000
and 60,000 individuals.
“The support from
our partners made the creation of this critical new reserve possible, and one
of the world’s most amazing creatures, the beautiful and deadly golden poison
frog, is now protected.” said Lina Daza, Executive Director of Fundación
ProAves.
“That this effort
is helping to save even a portion of a rainforest is significant, and we’re
glad we have been a part of it. We need to halt the continued, rapid
disappearance of rainforests and the resultant loss of wildlife that depend on
them,” said Dr. George Fenwick, President of American Bird Conservancy.
Acclaimed
journalist Simon Barnes, a WLT council member, wrote in The Times of London
newspaper in September 2011: “Astonishing: we are on the edge of wiping out one
of the most extraordinary and thrilling creatures on the planet. No matter how
well a creature is protected by nature and by evolution, it is always
vulnerable to humans. There’s nothing we can’t do when we put our minds to it.
Still, at least we are now beginning to put our minds to saving the golden
poison frog: we would all be much poorer without such a creature to give us
nightmares.”
The new reserve
is also the initiation of an ambitious project called the Chocó Corridor that
will connect many highly threatened habitats, from the mangroves on the Pacific Coast
to cloud forests on the highest peaks of the western Andes.
The Golden Poison Frog Reserve and Choco Corridor is supported by Conservation
International, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the
Beneficia Foundation, and private donors.