Leptodactylus fallax, commonly known as the Giant Ditch Frog, is a species of frog that is native to the Caribbean islands of Dominica and Montserrat. The population has declined 80% in the last ten years and this species is now critically endangered. In 2004 it was estimated that the population possibly was as low as 8000 individuals. One of the main threats is human consumption. The fungal disease chytridiomycosis has also had a dramatic effect on the population. Locally, it is known as the Mountain Chicken for its large size and the fact it is hunted for food.
Read more about Giant Ditch Frog: Description, Distribution and Habitat, Behavior and Ecology, Threats and Conservation
Famous quotes containing the words giant, ditch and/or frog:
“Next week Reagan will probably announce that American scientists have discovered that the entire U.S. agricultural surplus can be compacted into a giant tomato one thousand miles across, which will be suspended above the Kremlin from a cluster of U.S. satellites flying in geosynchronous orbit. At the first sign of trouble the satellites will drop the tomato on the Kremlin, drowning the fractious Muscovites in ketchup.”
—Alexander Cockburn (b. 1941)
“What does education often do? It makes a straight-cut ditch of a free, meandering brook.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“An old pond—
a frog tumbles in—
the sound of water.”
—Matsuo Basho (1644–1694)