Koalas can spend twenty hours or more of the day just sleeping or resting in gum trees
The Kodiak bear is the World's second largest land carnivore.
Frog Appeal
Frogs are facing the greatest species extinction crisis since the demise of the dinosaurs.
Taronga Foundation Year of the Frog Ambassador, Bryce Courtenay, launching Year of the Frog in March this year.
It is not widely known that nearly half of all amphibian species world-wide are declining and threatened with extinction. In Australia we have already lost seven species of frogs in the past 30 years and one third of our 225 species are at risk.
2008 has been designated "Year of the Frog" by the World Association of Zoos and Aquaria. The aim is to inspire individuals, organisations and governments to take action - immediately.
Taronga Zoo is already a leader in conservation breeding and release programs for threatened amphibians, such as the Corroboree, Booroolong and Green-and-golden Bell Frogs. Taronga has successfully bred most of the species in its collection and is building its capacity for formal research and knowledge sharing.
At this time, we are the only Zoo to have successfully bred and released Booroolong Frogs, and one of only two Australian Zoos with amphibian release back-to-the-wild programs which involves restoration of habitat to provide optimal conditions for successful reintroduction to the wild.
In February we were able to reintroduce more than 600 Booroolong Frogs to their riverbank habitat in southern NSW, working in partnership with the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change. Jointly, and along with local residents, we are now monitoring their progress.
We are also raising the endangered Southern Corroboree Frog as part of a National Recovery Program. This species is almost extinct, with as few as 150 frogs left in the wild. Its survival now depends on the success of captive breeding programs and future reintroductions to the wild.
At Taronga we plan to build on these successes to help ensure a future for Australian frogs.
During the Year of the Frog we are raising funds to support local Amphibian Ark initiatives and to expand our own frog conservation breeding programs through installing a new climate controlled breeding facility based on the successful Corroboree Frog model.
Just running a dedicated breeding facility costs around $400 each week. Frog food alone costs over $3,000 a year.
It's a big commitment, but one we simply must make if we are going to save these important species from near-certain extinction.
