Lost Frog

Lost Frog

Lost frogs is a term given to frogs which have been, usually accidentally, outside of their original distribution.

The term mainly applies to Australia, due to the large amount of frogs (up to 10,000 a year) accidentally while hiding in fruit produce, flowers and building and landscape supplies. Most of the lost frogs each year are moved from Northern Australia to the larger cities in the south.

The majority of the lost frogs turn up in fruit shops and markets. These frogs are often released into the surrounding areas. The release of lost frogs into areas far from their original habitat can have devastating effects on the released frog or the local frog populations. As lost frogs often end up moving from tropical to cooler areas they often cannot adapt fast enough to the new climate, and due to the stress of travelling hundreds of kilometres, often suffer injuries and are likely to die. Lost frogs are also often responsible for the spread of disease. When a frog suffering from a disease is released into an area where the disease is not present, it can have severe effects on the local frog populations. The fast spread of the chytrid fungus around Australia was likely to have been assisted by the introduction of lost frogs into areas where the disease was absent.