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Help frogs survive in the concrete jungle

Do you lead a double life? Frogs do!

Frogs are amphibians. They live part of their life cycle underwater, breathing through gills, and part of their life cycle on land, breathing with lungs. 'Amphibian' comes from two Greek words - amphi meaning 'both', and bios meaning 'life'.

Frogs start their lives as eggs laid in water. After a week or so they hatch, as tadpoles, and swim around eating tiny animals, algae and other plant life in the water. Gradually they lose their tails and grow little legs and arms until finally they turn into fully formed frogs. Mature frogs live mostly on land, but love to visit nice and wet shady areas and shallow water.

Frogs need your help to survive!

By maintaining frog habitats in your backyard, you'll be rewarded with a frog symphony in the spring, summer and autumn months.

Frogs rely on camouflage for protection. Some can even change colour to blend into the background! While this sometimes works on natural predators, our pets - particularly cats - are not fooled so easily. So it's a good idea to keep your cats inside when you know there are frogs around.

Tadpoles, which eat some plant life and other things in water, can only live in unpolluted water. This means that we need to be extra careful about what kind of chemicals we wash into our waterways (particularly cleaning products, oils and pesticides). A tadpole's survival ultimately means a frog's survival!

Be a backyard buddy

We can make our neighbourhoods friendly for frogs. The Department of Environment and Conservation, local councils and other interest groups have established Backyard Buddies to get you started.

It's easy. All you have to do is care. And take a few simple steps. Step one is to find out what frogs like and don't like.

Frogs love:

• Water - their eggs and tadpoles live in water, and as fully grown frogs they also like to sit in or near water.
• Cool, damp places - frogs don't have waterproof skin, because they absorb drinking water and oxygen through their skin. Many frogs need a cool, moist environment, so water does not evaporate from their skin.
• A place to hide from predators - under rocks, or among leaf litter, mulch, twigs, shrubs, trees, hollow branches and bark.
• Garden pests to eat, especially mosquitos, moths, caterpillars, cockroaches and flies.

But they don't like:

• Cats and dogs – household pets, especially cats, will prey on frogs when the opportunity arises.
• Garden chemicals, which can contaminate frog ponds and destroy the homes of frogs and tadpoles.
• Exotic fish - goldfish, gambusia and other exotic fish are known to eat frog eggs and attack tadpoles.
• Being handled and moved around – frogs are at risk from diseases caused by the frog chytrid fungus and other infections. A frog is more likely to become infected when under stress. The disease may also be spread when frogs or tadpoles are moved by people from place to place.

Adopt a cuddly Backyard Buddy and help the
animals in the wild.

Call 1800 283 343

Green tree frog - listen to its call. Frog call courtesy of Nature Sound.