Time to Celebrate
To celebrate the International Day of Biodiversity, I want to highlight some of the many species that Durrell and our partners have supported over the years; either through the actions of our breeding programmes at the wildlife park in Jersey or through the field programmes and training around the world. All these species are either part of existing field projects, breeding programmes or important projects that we assist. There are many more and within this you will find some of the great success stories of conservation.
Agile frogs (Rana dalmatina) are one of only three amphibian species native to Jersey, and Jersey is the only place in the British Isles where this frog species occurs. Unfortunately, its population on Jersey has been declining, and its range on the island decreasing, since the early 1900’s, largely due to pollution of breeding ponds and habitat loss. By the mid-1980’s there were only two populations remaining on the island (both in the south-western corner of the island), and one of these was lost in 1987 due to an agri-chemical spill. As part of efforts to conserve the species, individuals from the single remaining population have been translocated to this site in recent years, and breeding is again occurring at this site.