Through Operation Leap Frog 2008 the Australian Rainforest Foundation (ARF) is encouraging everyone to get involved in keeping the world’s frogs alive, kicking and croaking and help prevent what could be the largest mass extinction since the dinosaurs.

Frogs and other amphibians may be small in size but they are considered one of the most important biological barometers of an ecosystem’s relative health. Yet it is believed that one-third to one-half of the world’s approximately 6,000 known amphibian species could go extinct in our lifetime and that is sending out warning bells to scientists as changes are occurring in the environment that will negatively impact on all our native wildlife including humans.

Likened to canaries in the coal mine: just as miners used sensitive canaries to warn them of toxic gases in the mines, amphibians might be warning us of changing environmental conditions that could eventually seriously impact our health. Biologists refer to the species as "nature's indicators."

Orange Thighed Treefrog

In Australia dramatic declines in some frog species have been reported since the 1980s, with concern increasing more recently with the disappearance of a number of species from apparently intact ecosystems such as the Wet Tropics rainforests in far north Queensland. This rich and biodiverse ecosystem is home to a quarter of Australia’s frogs yet these critical species are still fighting traditional threats such as habitat loss and pollution while facing new threats from climate change and emerging disease.

Amphibian Ark (AARK), an arm of the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP) has declared 2008 the Year of the Frog, with a global campaign to raise awareness of the amphibian crisis, and to generate funding for amphibian conservation.

The ARF has registered as a supporter in this campaign and through Operation Leap Frog 2008 is aiming to promote awareness of the importance of caring for and protecting frogs while raising essential funds to support ongoing scientific frog research and protect vital frog habitat in far north Queensland, while at the same time supporting the International crisis through Amphibian Ark.