Saving the world's biggest frog

Giant leap from extinction - 17th April 2023

Scientists in Cameroon have put measures in place to prevent the goliath frog – the world's largest – from becoming extinct. Weighing between 600 and 3,250 grams and measuring up to 32 centimetres, their habitat's limited to the waterfall basins and rapids of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

For conservationist Cedrick Fogwan, these amphibians have value both as a biological creature and as a cultural icon. He said, "When I found this species was unique - the biggest one in the world - I said this is something that we cannot easily find elsewhere and I was proud of it."

Growing to the size of a housecat, the croakless amphibians have been over-hunted for food in the past decades. One hunter reported that he used to catch from 8 to 12 per night. However, he's now lucky to catch 2 to 5. Another issue's their desirability internationally as pets, which sees them smuggled from their natural environment.

However, the biggest threat to the goliath frog, also known as the giant slippery frog, comes from agriculture, with the destruction of rivers and streams where they live and lay their eggs.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the goliath frog as endangered and the Cameroonian government has made it a Class A protected species.

Conservationists and citizen scientists are taking steps to safeguard the species. Conservation teams hire hunters to record sightings and local groups have started snail farms to provide a food source for the iconic amphibians.

Their efforts have been rewarded as more and more goliath frogs are returning to the rivers around Mont Nlonako Reserve. The species is much older than homo sapiens. Humans have only existed for 300,000 years while goliath frogs have been around for 250 million years. Hopefully, these amphibian giants will be here for millions more.