Fishing for Stars (81 page)

In the mossy folds and runnels of the highest mountain springs in the upper regions of Kosciusko National Park, just below the snow melt, there used to live a small yellow and black frog hardly anyone has seen or heard or would probably miss if it became extinct. Its name is Corroboree, a word that, if you say it quietly to yourself, sounds like water running over rock. There are as few as fifty Corroboree frogs remaining alive in the wild and they are about to disappear forever – and ‘forever’ is just another word for eternity. But there may be some hope we can save this tiny little snow and wind and high- mountain frog. That is, if you should decide to help.

Okay, why should you? Good question. Australia has 219 frog species, of which eight have become extinct in the past thirty years and a further twenty-seven species are about to croak for the last time. Frogs not only make the night sound like a beautiful place, but they are an early-warning system that tells us things are taking a wrong turn in the environment. They are nature’s equivalent of the canary in the coalmine. Save them and we begin to save ourselves.

The Taronga Conservation Society Australia is working around the clock to save little Corroboree, who, by the way, isn’t much bigger than your thumbnail. Not just this little high-mountain fellow, but also the twenty-seven other endangered species. The trick is to breed them at the zoo and then to release them back into the wild. Captive husbandry and breeding is their only hope of survival. And, of course, there is little point in doing this unless we can make their natural habitat a safer place. At Taronga Zoo both are being undertaken and we believe, with your help, that we can eventually win the battle to save these tiny frogs.

Now, will you consider popping a cheque or money order in an envelope and sending it to the Taronga Foundation at PO Box 20, Mosman, NSW 2088 Australia? Or you could make a donation online (it doesn’t have to be a whopper) at www.taronga.org. All donations $2 and over are fully tax-deductible, so don’t forget to include your name and address for your tax-deductible receipt.

Ribett, ribett – that’s ‘thank you’ in frog.

Bryce Courtenay

PS If you read my book in years to come, don’t think it’s all over bar the croaking – this is a long-haul project and needs your help now and in the future.

Trust is an independent, not-for-profit program to inspire upcoming generations with the career opportunities, challenges and possibilities of working to protect threatened species and striving for good environmental management. The program is about what students can be, and through scholarships and exchanges offers an innovative blending of co-operative environmental work, university training, and involvement of school students of all ages as the lifeblood of the future. The challenge laid down by the program is for new supporters to match the contributions that other businesses, professionals and private individuals have already made.

For more information and to find out how you can support BookEnd Trust, go to
www.bookendtrust.com
or write to Dr Niall Doran, Coordinator, BookEnd Trust, PO Box 310, Sandy Bay, TAS 7006, Australia; email: [email protected].