Park hopes to save frogs from deadly disease with new project

THE Port Moresby Nature Park wildlife department has warned that frogs are in great danger of being infected by a deadly disease that kills them in water.
Marketing and Communications officer Marysila Kellerton said the disease was so deadly that it had killed almost half of all frogs globally and resulted in the extinction of many species in the past two decades.
“At present there is no plan in place by the Government to prevent this disease entering PNG,” she said.
Kellerton said different research reports showed that PNG was part of an island that was home to about 400 frog species, with many more yet to be described.
She said the park launched the initial stages of its second conservation project: the “Future proofing of Papua New Guinea’s frogs” in September.
“The project is a collaborative effort with the park’s sister zoo, Zoos Victoria, multiple international researchers, local and international universities, Government and local partners and will enable entirely new research opportunities for university post-graduate students and researchers.”
The park’s curator, Brett Smith, said PNG remained one of the last land masses yet to be hit by the Chytrid Fungus.