The largest living frog on earth is The Goliath Frog, and it’s in danger of becoming extinct after its population size plummeted 50% over the last three generations. The main reason for this is human-induced activity.
The Goliath Frog, with its impressive size of up to 13 centimeters and weight of 7.2 lb, or 3.25 kg, is a true giant. However, its habitat is anything but. This magnificent creature is confined to a small range in Africa’s Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, making it particularly susceptible to the destructive actions of humans.
This colossal frog is rather skittish, and although it attempts to avoid humans as much as possible, highly advanced traps and habitat destruction have caused the number of Goliath frogs to decrease greatly in recent years. According to experts, if things don’t change, this spectacular frog species will soon become extinct.
The executive director of the NGO Voice of Nature told Fair Planet that a minimum of 20,000 Goliath frogs are hunted during peak hunting season, which takes place between November and April. Demand for this amphibian is through the roof, as it’s considered a delicacy in certain parts of Cameroon.
Despite the initial neglect from the Cameroon government, the tireless lobbying by conservation NGOs has led to some protection for the Goliath Frog. The establishment of the Muanenguba Herpeto-Ornithological Sanctuary, a safe haven for various endangered species, including this frog, is a step in the right direction. However, poachers continue to pose a threat, and conservation activists are hopeful that the government will deploy ‘eco-guards’ to defend these animals.
Despite humans devastating the environment of the Goliath frog through deforestation and hunting, it’s still one of the world’s most elusive animal species. It’s been reported that the frogs would often jump into the Mpoula River in western Cameroon when they heard humans approaching. Scientists are studying the frog in hopes of observing Goliath tadpoles in case the species needs to be bred in captivity to ensure its survival.
While observing the Goliath frogs, scientists think they’ve possibly discovered why these frogs grow up to be more massive than other frog species. While the researchers didn’t witness too many adult frogs, they discovered multiple spawning sites that stood out from regular frog breeding sites due to the frogs’ large size and impressive muscles.
In a study conducted in 2019, scientists learned that the Goliath frog dug holes into a gravel riverbank, surrounding these cavities with bigger rocks and stones to create a makeshift pond, which, as a result, created a barrier against potential predators like shrimp and fish. These mini pounds also stopped fluctuating water levels. Some ponds were made using huge, heavy rocks that weighed over 4.4 pounds, more than twice the weight of the Goliath frog.
One of the study’s co-authors, Mark-Oliver Rödel, told Popular Science, “The fact that we’ve only just discovered these behaviors shows how little we know about even some of the most spectacular creatures on our planet.”
According to scientists, Goliath frogs have existed for approximately 250 million years, but there’s still so little known about these amphibian giants. If we don’t put in more effort to protect their habitat and reduce hunting, they might be extinct in only a few years.
