Museum of Living Art - Amphibian Crisis

The Global Amphibian Crisis and Museum of Living Art

In line to become an international paradigm for reptile and amphibian conservation efforts, the Fort Worth Zoo's Museum of Living Art (MOLA) will embody one of the Zoo's core missions — conservation.

The Past
Upon its opening in 1960, the Zoo's old Herpetarium boasted an impressive animal collection — housing the single largest collection of amphibians and reptiles in the world at the time. In the last 50 years, the facility witnessed many first-time breedings (such as the rare chameleon forest dragon) and held one of the most diverse reptile collections in the country. Even though time took its toll on the 9,000-square-foot building, the Zoo has always remained committed to conservation.

Recently, the Zoo's herpetological staff was able to induce breeding of all three orders of amphibians — frogs, salamanders and caecilians. The list of successes includes the Puerto Rican crested toad, a highly endangered species, aquatic caecilians, green and black dart frogs, blue poison dart frogs and black-spotted newts.

The Present
An entire class of animals is going extinct. Thirty-two percent of the world's amphibian species may be extinct within the next five to 10 years without the intervention of zoos and other conservationists. Biologists liken the global amphibian crisis to the demise of the dinosaur, making efforts to save them imperative.

Amphibians face many of the same threats as all wildlife such as climate change, disease and habitat alteration. However, vast numbers of frogs, salamanders and caecilians are undergoing a mass extinction event of unprecedented scale. One particular fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis or chytrid) is forcing many species toward extinction. This fungus has been identified in association with population die-offs on every amphibian-inhabited continent. Thought to have originated in South Africa and then spread by commercial trade of African frogs, the fungus has most drastically affected amphibian populations in Central America, Australia and the western mountains of America.

The Future
As displayed in MOLA, the Fort Worth Zoo is fully committed to amphibian conservation efforts. The new facility will house species of high conservation priority and work to breed sustainable, captive populations. MOLA will also offer four quarantine rooms dedicated to critically endangered amphibians in need of captive management and reintroduction, in addition to outdoor breeding areas, hibernation facility for hard-to-breed species, and climate-controlled holding facilities for optimum housing and care. MOLA will also empower guests with knowledge, by providing open-encounter areas to allow keeper Q&A time, and state-of-the-art graphics to teach future stewards, humans, our responsibility to manage the world's fragile ecosystem.

For more information about the global amphibian crisis and how AZA zoos are helping to save them, visit these links:

AZA's year of the frog website

Amphibian Ark

Help a Frog

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