Black Widow
08-18-2008, 10:23 PM
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A rare species of frog that croaks with a "northern accent" is to receive special legal protection after being reintroduced to Britain.
Minister for Wildlife Joan Ruddock announced that the pool frog will be safeguarded against being killed, taken, injured, disturbed, owned, sold or having its resting or breeding places destroyed.
The frog has a distinctive croak, similar to a regional accent.
Genetic studies and analysis of its mating calls have established that the species was part of a special northern group along with animals from Norway and Sweden.
The last native frog died in the 1990s after the population dwindled to just one site in Norfolk.
Archaeological investigations have revealed a long history in Britain - remains of the frog dating back to 1000AD have been found at Saxon sites in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire.
Under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan a range of organisations, including Natural England and the Herpetological Conservation Trust, imported the frogs from Sweden with special permission and introduced them to a secret site in Norfolk three years ago.
The wildlife minister said: "Working in harmony with nature is becoming more and more important as increasing demands are made on our environment.
"The UK's native species need our support, and I hope today's announcement will help give the pool frog a secure future."
Habitat restoration at the site has created ideal conditions for the frog, which breeds in medium-sized ponds in open areas, close to woodland. But experts said it was vital to introduce legal protection for the amphibian before reintroducing it elsewhere in East Anglia.
Natural England's amphibian specialist Jim Foster said: "It is vitally important to have this kind of protection in place for the pool frog before we could consider reintroducing them to new ponds in other parts of East Anglia.
"Early signs are encouraging that the pool frogs are settling in to the current release site.
"However it will be several years before we can confidently assess the success of this reintroduction."
From October 1 the pool frog, along with the lesser whirlpool ram's-horn snail and the Fisher's estuarine moth, will be covered by the 1994 EU Habitats Regulations.
sky news
A rare species of frog that croaks with a "northern accent" is to receive special legal protection after being reintroduced to Britain.
Minister for Wildlife Joan Ruddock announced that the pool frog will be safeguarded against being killed, taken, injured, disturbed, owned, sold or having its resting or breeding places destroyed.
The frog has a distinctive croak, similar to a regional accent.
Genetic studies and analysis of its mating calls have established that the species was part of a special northern group along with animals from Norway and Sweden.
The last native frog died in the 1990s after the population dwindled to just one site in Norfolk.
Archaeological investigations have revealed a long history in Britain - remains of the frog dating back to 1000AD have been found at Saxon sites in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire.
Under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan a range of organisations, including Natural England and the Herpetological Conservation Trust, imported the frogs from Sweden with special permission and introduced them to a secret site in Norfolk three years ago.
The wildlife minister said: "Working in harmony with nature is becoming more and more important as increasing demands are made on our environment.
"The UK's native species need our support, and I hope today's announcement will help give the pool frog a secure future."
Habitat restoration at the site has created ideal conditions for the frog, which breeds in medium-sized ponds in open areas, close to woodland. But experts said it was vital to introduce legal protection for the amphibian before reintroducing it elsewhere in East Anglia.
Natural England's amphibian specialist Jim Foster said: "It is vitally important to have this kind of protection in place for the pool frog before we could consider reintroducing them to new ponds in other parts of East Anglia.
"Early signs are encouraging that the pool frogs are settling in to the current release site.
"However it will be several years before we can confidently assess the success of this reintroduction."
From October 1 the pool frog, along with the lesser whirlpool ram's-horn snail and the Fisher's estuarine moth, will be covered by the 1994 EU Habitats Regulations.
sky news