Due to the destruction of habitats, the use of pesticides, the agricultural land fallow as well as other factors, Taipei frogs have been a rare sight in Taiwan in the last ten years. As the population of wild Taipei frogs slowly diminished in Taipei, Taipei Zoo began to think about adjusting their priorities towards taking conservation action. In addition to maintain the wild population and conservation habitats, Taipei Zoo also began to actively pursue artificial breeding for ex situ conservation. Currently, the zoo is involved in the work of artificially breeding of Taipei frogs, obtaining preliminary results and establishing the foundation for ethnic restoration.
Since 1999, the Taipei Zoo has worked with the Agriculture Department, New Taipei City Government and other units as well. They have continued to search for methods to recover and maintain the wild habitats of Taipei frogs. By the cooperation of Taipei City and New Taipei City in working together to breed frogs in the Taipei Zoo, the return of Taipei frogs from the zoo to the wild wetlands would be accomplished soon. If their habitat is destroyed, not only Taipei frogs are deprived of their home but also other residents from those ponds, entire food webs, and important ecological functions may be destroyed. These functional losses will cause large amounts of carbon releasing into the atmosphere, which may accelerate Global Warming and affect human existence.
We invite everyone to join the conservation action, to be respectful to nature, to understand the crisis of the Taipei grass frog and protect them!