Toads Return

This is Kihansi Fall in Tanzinia. It is home to Kihansi Toads in the photo below.

These toads live nowhere else but in the spray of Kihansi waterfalls. After the completion of Kihansi hydroelectric dam in July 2000, the spray level reduced drastically and the tiny creatures disappeared from the wild. In 2009, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared the toads extinct. But before the declaration, several of these toads were already taken into zoos in the United States of America. This week, 100 of Kihansi Toads born and bred in the U S have arrived in Tanzinia to be reintroduced into their habitat in the wild.

In our last story, we reported a search for "Lost Frogs" and cautioned communities in and around Sapo National Park to help protect frogs, toads, and other amphibians of the park. Currently, we have no information of any unique Sapo amphibians in zoos around the world. If we sent any of our wild amphibian extinct, it may be gone forever. Let's respect and safeguard our nature.

Let's Conserve Sapo

According to a story on Conservation International's website, this yellow-and-black flog is reported missing from where it was kept in the United States of America. It was one of the two of its kind species to be discovered by scientists in 1975 in Guatemala. Its name was Jackson's climbing salamander. It was brought to the States to be studied but suddenly disappeared. What led to the disappearance is a mystery. Sadly enough, no member of its kind has ever been seen since its discovery. Whether the little creature is thriving in its habitat or has gone extinct, scientists have yet to find out. The search is on.

For those of us closer to Sapo National Park, we may wonder why would anyone want to search for and keep creature like frog. Here are two obvious reasons:
1. Flogs, toads and other amphibians feed on insects that destroy our food crops and give us diseases such as malaria.
2. The skin of these creatures may be used to make medicine for pain, cancer, and even HIV.

They are vital for the survival of human beings, isn't it. These little creatures are our partners on earth, contributing immensely to our survival. In view this, Conservation International (CI) is sponsoring a team of scientists to travel the world to find, study, and help keep them alive in their habitats. Some of these scientists may visit Sapo National Park for their work, one of the reasons for which the park was created and a genuine reason for us to safeguard the park.

Project Hippo

Post-war encroachment has posed a threat to wildlife in the Sapo National Park. The main reason behind this threat is the constantly growing deforestation, poaching and negligence towards animals and nature. Our endangered hippos, though have legal protection in Liberia, are losing their habitat, as the park is logged, farmed, hunted, and poached. CESI is launching "Project Hippo" to help protect the hippos and their habitat as well as to promote eco-tourism. See photo of these rare nocturnal forest creatures below:

Pygmy hippopotamus or hippo

Hippo is herbivorous, feeding on ferns, broad-leaved plants, grasses and fruits of the forests. It is a forest cousin of whale. Hippo is semi-aquatic and relies on proximity to water to keep its skin moisturized and its body temperature cool.

Hippos mate and give birth in water or on land.

Purpose of CES

CES cares deeply about saving the Sapo National Park. After the war, many Liberians are returning to the places where they once lived and worked, bringing with them new business and economic ideas. Some are settling in new territories, not knowing the environmental and economic impact there. Most of these roamers care less about fostering the balance between environmental and economic benefits of their new landscape. For our part, we plan to work with the Government of Liberia and our partners to conserve the Sapo Natioal Park, train park workers and invest in conservation at home. Our work will not only focus on Sapo but will also consider other parks as well as those yet to be created. From our headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida, and our regional office in Greenville, Liberia, we have plans to save the park land of more than 325,760 acres and its wildlife species such as forest elephants, pygmy hippos, and wart hogs. One of our main goals is to promote the park worldwide.

The Conservation Effort for Sapo, (CES), was established to enhance the balance between environmental and economic goals of the communities around the park. Considering the valuable prospects of Sapo as expressed by the Liberian Government, environmentalists, conservationists, and scientists, we decided to found a small nonprofit organization that would bring economics and the environment together in the communities around the park. Everything we do will have environmental and economic value, from protecting and promoting the park to educating and helping communities improve their quality of life.

Protecting Sapo National Park

Since 1983, the Liberian government has envisaged the Sapo National Park to strengthen the focus of international communities on its virginity and biodiversity. The hope is that tribes, local governments, and communities surrounding the national park will help to preserve, safeguard, and celebrate the heritage. But that hasn't been the case. Instead, Encroachments and illegal exploitation of all forms of its natural resources are currently being carried out by poachers.

Now the national government is calling on the tribes, local governments, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individual citizens to help in protecting the Park, preserving its heritage, and creating close to nature opportunities for people around the world to visit and cherry our beloved Liberia. We, a group of Liberians named "Conservation Effects for Sapo", are proud to join forces with state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, private citizens, communities surrounding the Park, and other partners to safeguard, recognize and promote our heritage.

Looking out and caring for the National Park and helping people around it take care of their communities is a job we love and need. We, CES, welcome your help and support.