For the love of frogs

by Rick LoBello

The video I have posted this week (click third image from top) features footage of a spadefoot toad and a Texas toad in their natural habitat at Big Bend National Park.

The Centennial Museum at UTEP website (http://museum.utep.edu/chih/chklist/chklist.htm)
includes a series of checklists highlighting animals known to the El Paso/Juarez region. The amphibian list includes thirteen species of frogs and toads. Here in El Paso we have three relatively common species: Couch’s spadefoot toad, Woodhouse’s toad, and the red-spotted toad. The best time to look for them is after summer rains, but even on a semi-humid evening without rain you may encounter one of the more common toads we have, the red-spotted toad.

Amphibians like the red-spotted toad are in big trouble around the world with over 120 species believed to have gone extinct in recent years. Here in El Paso one of the best things we can do is to make our backyards amphibian friendly by planting native plants and making sure there are hiding places for toads to protect themselves from drying out during the heat of the day. We can also avoid using pesticides and make sure that there are no chemicals lying around that could hurt a frog passing by.

I have always liked studying frogs and toads and salamanders. Not far from my home growing up in Western New York I used to find American toads in my backyard and leopard frogs in the ponds and streams nearby. I used to spend a lot of time fishing at 18 mile Creek where I would find a variety of salamanders like the dusky salamander hidden underneath the layers of black slate along the creek.

While working on my undergraduate degree at William Jewell College I met my mentor in nearby Kansas City at the Kansas City Museum of Science. Dr. Richard Baldauf was a well known environmentalist who was the former head of the Wildlife Sciences at Texas A & M. His specialty was frogs and toads and everyone who knew him appreciated his passion for these little guys. Frog and toad artwork including all kinds of little knick knacks filled his office and home. After taking his night course in Herpetology I was hooked.

Not long after taking his course he offered me a job as a Museum Technician and Nature Center Director. When it came time to think about planning for advance biology degree after graduation I soon found myself in Dr. Baldauf's office looking at pictures frogs and toads of Texas in a Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of North America. I was trying to decide whether I should attend Sul Ross State University in Alpine to work on my Masters Degree in Biology. Then Dr. Baldaulf flipped to the page showing pictures of Couch’s spadefoot toads, green toads, red toads and other Chihuahuan Desert creatures. As Dr. Baldauf told me about the natural history of spadefoot toads I was hooked. I wanted to move to Texas so I could see spadefoots in the wild!

I have always believed that if it wasn’t for my fascination for desert amphibians I may not have moved to Texas. Today I find myself concerned about their last remaining habitats and working on a wide variety of efforts to help increase awareness of the Chihuahuan Desert here in El Paso. One of those efforts can be seen at www.chihuahuandesert.org. Join me and others in helping to conserve our natural heritage.