Richard Branson, the founder and CEO of Virgin, now a group of around 200 different corporations, leads a pretty busy life, switching between his enterpreneural existence and his adventurous activities, like kitesurfing across the Channel and travelling around the world in a hot-air balloon. Incredibly enough he has found time to express his worries about the amphibian extinction crisis on his personal blog.
He refers to the extinction crisis that amphibians in general and frogs in particular are facing and that this by no means is an isolated incident, but a worldwide problem. He calls for involvement of the public in saving the frog stating that they are “spectacular creatures that would be a huge loss to the earth if they became extinct.”
Of course I agree with this and it is very hopeful to see that some very influential people like Richard Branson are feeling committed to the amphibian cause. He has shown his commitment before by featuring in a video of the Prince Charles’ Rainforests Project pleading for a similar cause. I hope his words will be an inspiration for people to save these beautiful yet vulnerable creatures.
Here is his original post; to view the links I refer you to the original blogpost.
Amphibian ark
By Richard Branson – jan. 31, 2013
Hundreds of frog species around the world are on the brink of extinction.
They are being wiped out by a fungus called Bd, described by the Washington Post as “an amphibian version of a case of athlete’s foot from hell”. Bd clogs frog pores and they die of a heart attack.The spread of Bd has been linked to climate change and pesticide use, as well as the international trade in certain frog species.
This problem isn’t isolated either – frogs are threatened in Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America, Central America and Australia. mPanama is a hotspot for frog extinction. The country’s mascot is the golden frog, but it has not been seen in the wild for five years.
However, as the Washington Post reports, scientists are doing incredible work trying to save the frogs, with many in Panama being protected in an “amphibian ark”. As the photo of a red-and-green poison arrow frog in Costa Rica shows, these are spectacular creatures that would be a huge loss to the earth if they became extinct.
Watch the video above and head over to amphibianrescue.org to get involved in the efforts to save the frog.