Today we visited a Mitsinjo, a turly community based protected park focused on ensuring the longevity of the 400 endemic frog species in Madagascar. The park was esablished in 1999 but the frog breeding facility was not opened until 2011. The original goal of Mitsinjo was to train and educate the local community as guides so that they could pass along the importance of environmental conservation to their peers. The main driving force that motivated the park to begin the frog project was the discovery of chytrid fungus in Madagascar. Chytrid fungus contaminates frogs in tropical areas around the world, growing on thier skin and suffocating them in huge quantities. Most recently Central America had seen a substantial loss in species as a result of this fungus. While the fungus has not been found in the area directly surrounding the park, a town called Andasibe, the threat of a large scale loss of such a unique population of species is enough to get scholars all over the world nervous. Not to mention frogs are suffering the same threats as most other mammals around the world especially the illegal pet trade and deforestation. The primary goal of the project now is to establish frog husbandry protocols that will succesfully allow the various species to thrive. Currently the facility houses 800 individuals representing about a dozen species. As the research continues on proper feeding, housing, and temperature of the frogs the chances that Madagascar’s unique amphibious fauna will survive a wide scale loss is getting better.
