Oregon Zoo gives frogs a lift across roads with the Frog Taxi
By KPTV Staff
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PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — The Oregon Zoo is giving frogs a lift.
According to the zoo, the largest population of northern red-legged frogs in our area are hopping down from Forest Park, where they live most of the time, to Harborton Wetlands, their seasonal breeding grounds. But to reach their destination, they have to cross two roads, a four-lane highway and two sets of train tracks.
To help out, the Oregon Zoo started the Frog Taxi, human-powered taxi, to help them arrive safely.
“It’s like that old video game Frogger,” said Philip Fensterer, a marine life keeper at the Oregon Zoo by day and a volunteer “frog transportation specialist” by night. “In order to survive, these frogs need to make it across the road without getting hit by vehicles — and at rush hour, that’s no easy feat.”
Zoo volunteers pick up the frogs they see near the road and give them a lift. When the frogs are ready to leave, they can catch another ride home.
“Creating a brighter future for these frogs is a team effort, and this project is an inspiring example of what we can achieve when we work together,” said Julie Fitzgerald, executive director of the Oregon Zoo Foundation. “Our members and supporters are key to conservation efforts such as this, helping make our state a better place for wildlife, people and the habitats we all depend on.”
In the future, wildlife groups are considering if an underpass can be built below the highway to give the frogs safe passage.
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