In the spring, a young peeper’s fancy . . .

Among the myriad signs of spring, the sound of spring peepers is one of the most welcome. Maybe because these tiny “chorus frogs” start so early in March, or maybe because they too have made it through the long, hard winter. (They can allow most of their bodies to freeze during winter hibernation and still survive, according to National Geographic.com.)

Like their southern brethren (northern Florida and southern Georgia), northern peepers (widespread through the eastern US and Canada) are nocturnal carnivores with a body length from 1–1 ½ inches; they weigh up to 0.18 ounces. They’re tan, brown, olive or gray, and the slightly larger females are lighter in color.

Though peepers have large toe pads for climbing, Wikipedia reports, they're more at home amid loose debris of the forest floor. “They live primarily in forests and regenerating woodlands near ephemeral or semi-permanent wetlands.”

Male peepers make all the noise during evening and early morning hours. Vocal sacs near their throats expand and deflate like balloons to create a short, distinct, high-pitched peeping sound, or call, intended to attract mates. Depending on the number of peepers in a chorus, their calls can be heard up to 2 ½ miles away, and to some ears, the sound resembles sleigh bells.

Don’t bother trying to see spring peepers – just enjoy their sound and its symbolism.
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Hug a frog today

April 30 is the second annual “Save the Frogs Day,” although in these times, every day should have that goal. Better than hugging a frog – assuming you could find one –would be thinking of frogs, along with toads and salamanders, all of them amphibians.

Like so many other creatures, frogs are suffering the effects of lost habitats, pollution, pesticides and herbicides, climate change and invasive species.

According to Michele S. Byers, “Today, nearly one-third of almost 6,500 amphibian species in the world are threatened. In the past 30 years, hundreds of species have disappeared altogether. In New Jersey alone, six of 32 amphibian species are listed as threatened or endangered.”

Byers, whose columns appear in area newspapers, is executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.

Not only deserving of being cared for and saved for their own sakes, amphibians are also “leading indicators of the health of our environment,” Byers writes. Their widespread decline may be a signal that our ecosystem is also jeopardized.

Some New Jerseyans are helping amphibians as “critter crossing guards,” protecting frogs and salamanders crossing the state’s roads, while others work to reduce fertilizer, herbicide, pesticide and fungicide use on lawns and keep natural buffers near streams and wetlands.

Amphibians, the “thin green line,” have survived for eons, and they’re the first of our ancestors to leave water for land. Now, on top of everything else that’s plaguing them, a mysterious fungus, “Chytrid,” is attacking the skins of frogs, depriving them of oxygen. Its origin is unknown and for now, scientists can only watch. Since frogs are in the middle of the food chain, effects of the fungus will move in both directions.

Two websites worth checking: SaveTheFrogs.com and NJConservation.org.
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"Eco-aquariums" -- not!

My post for Dec. 18 was about the Eco-Aquariums I'd just seen at Norman's in Lawrence Shopping Center. Later, when the Norman's buyer and I spoke by phone, she said she had researched the subject carefully and found an endorsement for it; however, she also expressed interest in knowing what PETA had to say about this "item" I had complained about.

So, I contacted PETA and spoke w/ the rep who handles such things. She emailed the two paragraphs below, in answer to my questions. I forwarded the PETA reply to the Norman's rep, and have not heard back from her. Here's what she said:

Yes, Eco-Aquariums are virtually identical to Frog-O-Spheres; the only difference appears to be the colored base that the cube sits on.

Would you be able to pass along our investigation on the Eco-Aquariums supplier, Wild Creations: https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2737. There is video and expert testimony that recommends these 'products' be removed from distribution immediately.

I invite readers to look at the PETA information, consider the appropriateness of Eco-Aquariums being sold in card and gift stores -- or anywhere -- then contact Norman's HQ to protest such sales and refuse to shop there till they stop. Again, the Norman's phone number is 215-579-2600. Please call!
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"Frog-o-spheres" return

They're baaaaaack. If not the exact same inhumane sales item as reported here on September 11, then close enough to be infuriating whatever they're called. They're some kind of "Eco-something" and today I spotted a small mountain of them at Norman's, Lawrence Shopping Center.

They hold at least one tiny frog in water . . . and that was about all I noted before it was my turn at the cash register. I mentioned that I'd heard these things could not be sold legally without a license. The saleswoman replied that they do have a license to sell these things, as do all the Norman's stores in the area, and she pointed vaguely toward a wall with framed papers.

Then she complained about having them -- not for the frogs' sake, alas, but because staffers must handle some maintenance of the frogs and there's all kinds of paperwork to be completed in a sale. Awww. Tsk-tsk. She apparently had no conception of the little frogs being alive, sentient and hopelessly far from home.

Later, too late to go back and return my $2-3 purchase, and unable to find the receipt anyway, I phoned the store to say I won't buy at Norman's again until I know they've abandoned this kind of sale. Then I got the (Penna) number for Norman's HQ (215-579-2600), phoned there and left a voice message and my phone #, declaring I'm a newspaper reporter and will spread the word.

Well, those two facts are true, but lacking a newspaper forum for this subject, I'll try to spread the word here: Please tell Norman's you object to their selling live creatures. Tell them you won't buy there as long as they continue doing it. And then find another card store. Thanks!
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Fighting "Frog-O-Spheres"

Brookstone, the place people think of for pricey high-tech gadgets, recently got into – and at least in West Windsor, out of -- the business of selling frogs. Here’s the story, as reported in a local paper late last month.

The company was selling the “Frog-O-Sphere,” a popular item (doesn’t everyone shop for frogs at Brookstone?) that included “ two live aquatic African dwarf frogs, a snail and a bamboo plant all enclosed in a plastic see-through cube.”

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) had complained to the township’s health office about these sales, arguing, “Displaying and selling wildlife for profit is never in the best interest of the animals.” PETA reported receiving hundreds of complaints from Brookstone customers, who either (1) found that the frogs they’d bought were dead or dying within days of purchase, or (2) were “horrified” that live frogs were in proximity to remote controlled chairs and other gadgets.

(Blogger’s note: So the first group of complainers didn’t much care about the frogs bought in these circumstances except that they were dead or dying? And was the second group trying to say the frogs’ habitat [beyond the “Frog-O-Sphere”] should be . . . habitat, and not merchandise? Oh, well, any protest is better than none.)

So, lacking the required pet shop license, this Brookstone store has stopped selling frogs/“Frog-O-Spheres.” But there are more than 300 more of them across the US, and sales are reported to be brisk at the (licensed) Brookstone in Bridgewater.
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