Neither - just clever timing by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which is staging the Year of the Frog.
Association members have committed this year to stirring up interest in the plight of the world's amphibians - frogs, salamanders, newts, toads and caecilians, which look like worms or eels and live in tropical areas.
Nearly one-third of the world's 6,000 species are in danger of extinction, according to the World Conservation Union. Scientists blame a confluence of factors, including an infectious fungal disease, global warming and loss of habitat.
Amphibians infected with a deadly form of chytrid fungus display neurological problems and sloughing skin. The carrier might be the African clawed frog, sold as pets and used in medical research and apparently unaffected by the disease. There is no known treatment.
"Every amphibian on the planet is in danger of going the way of the dinosaurs," said Geoff Hall, general curator at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, which is taking part in the initiative.
The fungus is a significant cause of the losses and has been in North America since the '50s, but habitat loss is by far the biggest problem, Hall said.
"We have to value natural land," he said. "The value of a grove of trees needs to be considered in relation to the value of a shopping center."
The Cleveland zoo is coordinating Leap into Action, a regional initiative offering opportunities for the public to become educated and involved in amphibian conservation. In April, for example, four Ohio county park systems will offer hikes relating to specific amphibians.
The zoo joined the effort about 11 years ago, when it began efforts to breed the Puerto Rican crested toad, a species on the brink of extinction. And for Project Golden Frog, which began in 2005, the zoo shelters and breeds Panamanian golden frogs, thought to be extinct in the wild.
Next, it will research whether the skin of a different species of golden frog contains a chemical that fights the killer fungus. The Baltimore and Detroit zoos are conducting similar studies.
Amphibians are the "canary in the coal mine," he said. "This could wake up people to how we've been behaving on this planet. The green movement begins with the decisions each of us make every day. We have to consider the consequences of our action."
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Source: Sunjournal.com
http://www.sunjournal.com/story/259642-3/bsection/2008_Leap_Year_and_Year_of_the_Frog_Coincidence_or_conspiracy/
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