Each year we enjoy celebrating the 'Day of the Frog', not only with one day of activity, but with a whole week of activities in different locations and cities in Bolivia. 'Day of the Frog 2019' was celebrated by us in three cities (La Paz, Cochabamba and Sucre). In La Paz different activities were carried out with visitors of Vesty Pakos Zoo to raise awareness about the situation of amphibians, especially the Titicaca Water Frog, and the exhibition of the Titicaca Water Frog was opened officially, giving the La Paz public the opportunity to see and learn about the frogs for the first time. In Cochabamba, an activity was carried out in the rescue centre Parque de las Aves Agroflori, with different activities for about 1,000 visitors, especially for children. In a town close to Sucre an activity was carried out for children of the community, teaching them about amphibians with different games. Click here to watch a video about the various activities.
'Day of the Frog 2020' was scheduled during a year where the pandemic had a huge impact in countries around the world, and on the majority of wildlife conservation projects. We were adamant to give hope and celebrate the Day of the Frog in a safe way. In association with several other institutions such as the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Aguas, Amphibian Specialist Group, Educa Anfibios, ThemiSelva, Bioparque Vesty Pakos, Diversidad Entre Pendientes, La Paz Biodiversa, Congreso Latinoamericano de Herpetología and independent conservationists organised different online activities to spread knowledge about amphibians through games, videos, posters, messages, photos and others.
As a strategy to raise awareness about the amazing Titicaca Water Frog — and its conservation plight — to people visiting Lake Titicaca, BAI has coordinated and organised the painting of murals on several walls, with permission, in Copacabana — the biggest town on the Bolivian side of the Lake — a town which receives thousands of visitors per year. These paintings are being painted by well-known Bolivian artists. The plan is to carry out more of these activities in different places of Lake Titicaca, to continue to raise awareness to local communities and tourists alike.
Another way to share effective conservation messages about amphibians are photographs. It is also an effective way to show the perspective of the amphibians, and the world where they live. We have produced banners, containing different images and content, which are being displayed in different locations on Isla de la Luna, one of the remaining strongholds of the Titicaca Water Frog. This work, coordinated with members of the local community of Isla de la Luna, has been carried out after colloborative meetings during the last two years with the outcome of establishing effective partnership between BAI and members of the Isla de la Luna community for the conservation of the Titicaca Water Frog.
Collaborating with a group of very enthusiastic people, who are interested in wildlife conservation in La Paz city, BAI has supported different activities including lectures and the production of field guides of the amphibians from La Paz city. In this partnership we have also been creating and recovering habitats for the conservation of urban amphibians in different areas of La Paz. The group of citizen-conservationists, together with the support of BAI, is developing material that will help raise awareness about the amphibians of the city and will continue with the construction and protection of habitat for amphibian populations in the urban areas of La Paz city.