Meet the family taking care of our new rare frog
27 Jul 2023
How the Montsant-Casados – children and parents – support conservation of Sylvia’s leaf frog and provide important data for research
A family have dedicated themselves to conserving a rare species of frog, first discovered by one of our University’s academics in 2018.
Sylvia’s leaf frog – named after the granddaughter of Andrew Gray, retired Curator of Herpetology at Manchester Museum and now honorary senior lecturer in FBMH, who first described the species – is found in Costa Rica.
The renowned La Kukula Lodge – a wildlife haven owned and run by the Family Montsant-Casado – is one of the few places in Costa Rica where Sylvia’s leaf frog, Cruziohyla sylviae, is thriving.
All the family members help document new aspects in the reproduction of the species and support its conservation through habitat modification and tadpole rearing, ensuring healthy young froglets get a real head start into their protected area. The joint family effort has helped boost the local wild population of this rare frog and established La Kukula Lodge as a main sanctuary for the species.
“When I got there it was clear that the children in the community were also very active in supporting the species, a species now highly synonymous with our work here at Manchester.”
The younger members of the family, Bruna and Baxter, have also been so inspired by their committed parents that they even created their very own on-site and environmental sustainability-focused Frog Museum.
Andrew, who was contacted by the family during Covid lockdown to let him know they had found the rare frog on their land, was invited to the lodge while on his recent trip to Costa Rica to support the University’s tropical field course.
He was delighted: “When I got there it was clear that the children in the community were also very active in supporting the species, a species now highly synonymous with our work here at Manchester.
“We are very proud to connect with this genuinely caring family and in awe that young people in the species’ country of origin are so enthusiastic about what we call ‘head-starting’, a majorly positive action to support the conservation of these rare frogs.
“The family’s efforts to help local wildlife, and those of the nearby Jaguar Rescue Centre with whom they associate, are a real credit to the community on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.”
Andrew added: “We are officially working with them and will be conducting further related conservation research in the future, as well possible student projects and placement opportunities.”
You can watch a film about how Sylvia’s leaf frog had been mislabelled for over 90 years until Andrew figured out it was a species all its own: