After finding a northern red-legged frog in the Delta Nature Reserve, Burns Bog Conservation Society staff are jumping with joy. The frog was thought to have been extinct locally.
“I was leading one of our field trips through the Delta Nature Reserve on Oct. 9 and one of the students saw something move,” said Nikolai Karpun, the society’s education and communications coordinator. “I looked over and saw a frog. It looked unlike any I had seen in the Delta Nature Reserve. Luckily, my first instinct was to take a photo.”
Provincial government biologists confirmed the photo is of a northern red-legged frog.
The northern red-legged frog is federally and provincially protected. It’s threatened by habitat loss as well as competition from non-native frogs.
The goal of the provincial management plan for the northern red-legged frogis to maintain self-sustaining and ecologically functioning populations in occupied watersheds throughout its range.
Burns Bog Conservation Society executive director Eliza Olson said nearby highway work will soon impact the Delta Nature Reserve.
“Before works start, we must find out if there are any more northern red-legged frogs in the Delta Nature Reserve,” said Olson. “We’d be hopping mad not to.”
Rare creatures have been found in Delta before. In 1999, a southern red-backed vole was spotted on the western side of Burns Bog, the first time since 1947 it had been seen in B.C.
“I wonder what other hidden treasures are in Burns Bog waiting to be found?” asked bog society education and research coordinator Mark Robertson.
Anyone who thinks they’ve spotted a northern red-legged frog in Delta, note the date, time and location. If possible, take a photo, but do not attempt to capture the frog. Contact the Burns Bog Conservation Society at info@burnsbog.org, or call 604-572-0373.
