Twin Oceans Aquarium Opens "Frogs - Beyond The Pond" Exhibit

By Helen Lockhart

Cape Town, South Africa - The Two Oceans Aquarium, in partnership with the City of Cape Town, opened a major new exhibit hall earlier this month in recognition of WAZA’S (World Association of Zoos and Aquariums) Year of the Frog 2008.
Frogs-Beyond the Pond at the Two Oceans Aquarium is a themed and highly interactive gallery which immerses visitors in the world of frogs and invites them to ‘jump in’ to find out more about these quirky yet extremely threatened creatures. The Aquarium joins a number of zoos and aquariums around the world which have committed to similar displays to raise awareness of the plight of frogs, inform visitors on what they can do to create frog-friendly environments and raise funds for the Amphibian Ark (an international frog breeding programme in zoos and aquariums).

Upon entering Frogs-Beyond the Pond visitors to the Two Oceans Aquarium are dwarfed by giant arum lilies, mushrooms, clivias, reeds and grasses towering above them, giving them a frog perspective of a suburban garden. A large interactive touch screen in one corner magnifies frog species, their habitats and some of the threats which face these misunderstood animals.

In another corner a fully automated puppet theatre show, “Your Friend the Frog”, entertains young and old alike as the hero, a western leopard toad, undertakes a journey, fraught with the dangers of impenetrable garden walls, speeding cars and hungry herons, from a suburban garden to a beautiful wetland to find his mate.  The toad shares the stage with a cast of other vibrant, colourful characters, including two outrageous dragon flies from the Cape Flats, who use humour and music to convey important frog messages to the audience. 

This show follows on from the first and highly successful puppet theatre which opened in the Aquarium in 2003. Dr Patrick Garratt, Managing Director of the Aquarium, says  “I am thrilled that we have, once again, launched an entirely new and exciting display in partnership with the City of Cape Town.  Five years ago we opened the first ever computer-controlled string marionette puppet show.  It consisted of three performances that dealt with important issues such as pollution, littering, flooding and the wise use of water.  It was a smash hit, with over 182,000 performances playing to almost two million people!  Our partnership with the City allowed us to stage more performances, by far, than any show ever staged in live theatre and our messages have been spread far and wide”.

Sipho Mosai, Director: Water and Sanitation, at the City of Cape Town comments: “We are delighted to re-establish our partnership with the Two Oceans Aquarium as this puppet show will raise awareness, amongst children and adults alike, not only about our endangered frogs, but also about water conservation, water by-laws, wetlands and alien vegetation in an amusing way”.

Other elements in the gallery include an oversized tap at the foot of which is a giant water drop incorporating a wishing well.  Under the heading “Small change to make big change – making cents for frogs” the well collects donations from visitors which will go towards the Amphibian Ark.

In conjunction with the interactive gallery, live frog exhibits have been incorporated into the existing Sappi River Meander Exhibit. The exhibits house mainly local species including the common platanna, arum lily frog, Cape river frog and the endangered Western leopard toad. These exhibits offer a glimpse of species which are fairly common in the Western Cape, but are rarely seen by most people.

Many people may wonder why the Aquarium has chosen to display frogs. Frogs play a critical role in terrestrial ecosystems which are directly linked to marine ecosystems. As Dr Garratt explains “Since our inception, the Two Oceans Aquarium has endeavoured to make the vital link that whatever we do on land affects the sea.  This year we are focusing on our wetlands and joining a massive global campaign to spread the urgent message that amphibians, and their environments, are in big trouble.   We are joining over 500 aquariums and zoos throughout the world in one of the biggest collaborative efforts ever mounted in the history of these institutions”.

Tying into the Two Oceans Aquarium exhibit, the City of Cape Town’s Environmental Resource Management Department is funding a Western Leopard Toad Communications Campaign. This campaign has been developed and will be activated through the Western Leopard Toad Conservation Committee, a committee formed in 2007 to co-ordinate and integrate all Western leopard toad related activities. The committee includes representatives from various organisations, including the City of Cape Town, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Cape Nature, South African National Parks, the Nature Conservation Corporation and representatives of volunteers groups. The Western leopard toad, occurring in the coastal region extending from the Cape Flats to the Agulhas Plain, is under enormous threat due to habitat fragmentation, increased urbanisation, water pollution and road traffic. The campaign aims to educate and create awareness around this endangered species.

Throughout the ages frogs have captured our imaginations and have inspired numerous myths, legends and folk tales. More importantly, frogs being incredibly sensitive creatures, are key indicator species in all the environments in which they are found.  Globally frog species are disappearing at an alarming rate and we should take heed of these warning signals.  Losing frogs means that we are losing our natural systems – the very systems on which we depend for our existence.

One half to one third of all amphibian species are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss, climate change, pollution and pesticides, introduced species, over-collection and, most urgently, a parasitic fungus called amphibian chytrid, a deadly disease that is rapidly eradicating amphibian species across the planet. This represents the greatest species conservation challenge in our history.

According to the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Global Amphibian Assessment hundreds of species face threats that cannot be mitigated in the wild and, therefore, require zoos and other institutions to save them in the short term until adequate conservation measures to secure wild populations can be developed. In response to this crisis, Amphibian Ark (AArk) was formed by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and two branches of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN/SSC) – the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG) and the Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG).

Amphibian Ark is helping zoos, aquariums, and other participating institutions to save as many amphibian species as possible by bringing into those institutions species for captive breeding that cannot be safeguarded in nature. Amphibian Ark provides global coordination, technical guidance, training, necessary linkages to other IUCN groups, communications, and guidance on publicity and capital campaigns. 

The southern tip of the African continent is the meeting place of two mighty and bountiful oceans, the Indian and the Atlantic. The Two Oceans Aquarium on the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town is ideally positioned to showcase the incredible diversity of marine life found in these two oceans. The Aquarium is one of the top tourist attractions in Cape Town and over 3000 living sea animals, including ragged tooth sharks, fishes, turtles and African penguins can be seen in this spectacular underwater nature reserve. For more please visit www.aquarium.co.za