Project Palaka Emergency Relocation

The emergency

Project Palaka is the only ex situ amphibian conservation project in the Philippines, as well as the only group conducting both in situ and ex situ conservation efforts for Gigante Wrinkled Ground Frog. The species was successfully bred in captivity for the first time by Project Palaka and surveys in the Gigantes Islands have substantially improved understanding of the species’s natural history and its threats. However, changes in management attitudes highlighted the precarious nature of the project’s ex situ operations and the need to urgently relocate to a site that could offer longer-term support.

The project

The ex situ breeding programme for Gigante Wrinkled Ground Frog will be relocated to Ocean Adventures in Subic Bay. The new facility is larger, more secure, and superior to the old facility. Crucially the ex situ programme has institutional support from the host organisation for its long-term operations and staff that work at Ocean Adventures are familiar with the basics of wildlife care. The project will include training five staff at Ocean Adventures in the captive care of the frog, including maintaining live food production. This will help to ensure that there are the staff and facilities to continue this important conservation breeding programme for the long-term.

Photo credit: Lao Connservation Trust for Wildlife