Monday, August 16, 2010
Good news for toadlets
Frogs and toads are good critters. They eat bugs and do no harm to humans. Thus it's genuinely worrisome that their numbers have declined in many areas. Lots of overblown enviropanic, lots of clichés about canaries in coal mines, but still it's a real concern. No uniform cause has appeared; some areas seem to be infected by fungus or parasites, others are mysterious.
So it's good to see toads increasing and flourishing in some places.
Here's a news story with cute pictures about a Million-Toadlet March north of Seattle, as tadpoles morph into baby toads and hit the shores en masse.
Happystar likes toadlets. ¶ 7:12 PM
So it's good to see toads increasing and flourishing in some places.
Here's a news story with cute pictures about a Million-Toadlet March north of Seattle, as tadpoles morph into baby toads and hit the shores en masse.
"There had to be millions, several millions of them." Park Manager Mike Zimmerman said he has never seen anything like it. Western Toad migrations are annual events but rarely do they occur in such a visible place with so many of them. There are still thousands visible as they move into the woods and marshes. Visitors to the park were amazed as they carefully walked along the shore.
Anderson Lake is most famous for its poisonous algae bloom that make it unsafe for human contact. Two dogs died after drinking water from the lake back in 2006. The algae is back this summer but it doesn't seem to bother the toads.
Happystar likes toadlets. ¶ 7:12 PM
