meet the mountain chicken one of the
largest frogs in the world and on the
Caribbean island of Montserrat it’s a
delicacy be looking similar to the
drumstick of the chicken like like the
jump sting of the wing the you know you
think about it the chicken mean luckily
for this mountain chicken he’s been
captured by researchers not hunters
he won’t end up on a dinner plate this
time and that’s a good thing since
mountain chickens are critically
endangered today hunting is discouraged
on the island but it still occurs and
other threats like habitat destruction
and introduced predators have also taken
their toll on Montserrat’s mountain
chickens public an estimate that
property will be a few thousand
individuals thousand individuals in
amphibian populations is a little
population Gerardo Garcia of the Durrell
Wildlife Conservation Trust is a
mountain chicken expert so we’re talking
about you know right on the edge of
distinction so it’s very important to
protect the habitat I’m Bonnie tore all
the threads together with biologist Don
Church of conservation international and
a team of researchers working for the
government of Montserrat he’s taking a
closer look at the islands mountain
chicken population but she looks in me
what I’m going to do is to shine a light
in the eye
it’s funny very nice five people with
you ready when they find a frog they
weigh it examine it and check for
diseases those that have been outfitted
with microchips are scanned and
identified no microchip in 2005 so
Browning your animal those that aren’t
microchipped are photographed for future
reference
finally the researchers release the frog
with a few words of encouragement we do
in perfect health and I hope to see you
again on the next census now too long
ago Mountain chickens lived on at least
seven Caribbean islands now because of
habitat destruction introduced predators
and overhunting there found unjust to
Montserrat and Dominica
to make matters worse nearly all of
those on dominica are infected with
Kittery a deadly fungus that’s been
known to wipe out entire frog
populations so far Montserrat’s mountain
chickens are fungus free but that
doesn’t mean they’re safe with Kidron
all it takes is for one infected animal
to slip in from another Island Don we’re
in the port of Montserrat because any
arrival of the kited fungus is going to
happen it will probably start here we
have boats that arrive twice a week we
fresh vegetables and fruits guess we’re
from Dominica it would be easy for an
infected frog to hitch a ride in a
shipment of produce and once the fungus
appears in an amphibian population
there’s no way to cure it or stop it
Gerardo thinks it’s just a matter of
time before the fungus comes to
Montserrat so he and his colleagues are
already taking precautions and this
could be their ace in the hole
in the 1990s a series of volcanic
eruptions devastated the southern part
of the island
officials evacuated the area and
designated it an exclusion zone
off-limits to the public but that here
you see is still green all the rest
ashes
what can I never effect that the area so
far and nobody lives there so there is
an opportunity there so there are no
mountains she considered currently no
night no night right now this is the
option that you know you can probably
move animals captive breeding program
maybe a translocation of wild animals
and establish a new population on the
south of the island in his lab back in
England Garcia has already established a
breeding population of mountain chickens
so in 1988 we collected a group of
founders they were 13 frogs come in
relief from Montserrat to develop a
safety net population they now have more
than 60 captive bred mountain chickens
all potential founders for the proposed
new population within the exclusion zone
probably will be the last hope for the
mountain chickens in Montserrat it
something happens in the centre of the
natural populations in the meantime
Garcia and his partners will continue
working to protect the mountain chickens
that remain and for the people of
Montserrat this creature that was once a
national dish will hopefully become a
national success story as well sponsored
by National Geographic mission programs
taking science and explore
into the new millennium
largest frogs in the world and on the
Caribbean island of Montserrat it’s a
delicacy be looking similar to the
drumstick of the chicken like like the
jump sting of the wing the you know you
think about it the chicken mean luckily
for this mountain chicken he’s been
captured by researchers not hunters
he won’t end up on a dinner plate this
time and that’s a good thing since
mountain chickens are critically
endangered today hunting is discouraged
on the island but it still occurs and
other threats like habitat destruction
and introduced predators have also taken
their toll on Montserrat’s mountain
chickens public an estimate that
property will be a few thousand
individuals thousand individuals in
amphibian populations is a little
population Gerardo Garcia of the Durrell
Wildlife Conservation Trust is a
mountain chicken expert so we’re talking
about you know right on the edge of
distinction so it’s very important to
protect the habitat I’m Bonnie tore all
the threads together with biologist Don
Church of conservation international and
a team of researchers working for the
government of Montserrat he’s taking a
closer look at the islands mountain
chicken population but she looks in me
what I’m going to do is to shine a light
in the eye
it’s funny very nice five people with
you ready when they find a frog they
weigh it examine it and check for
diseases those that have been outfitted
with microchips are scanned and
identified no microchip in 2005 so
Browning your animal those that aren’t
microchipped are photographed for future
reference
finally the researchers release the frog
with a few words of encouragement we do
in perfect health and I hope to see you
again on the next census now too long
ago Mountain chickens lived on at least
seven Caribbean islands now because of
habitat destruction introduced predators
and overhunting there found unjust to
Montserrat and Dominica
to make matters worse nearly all of
those on dominica are infected with
Kittery a deadly fungus that’s been
known to wipe out entire frog
populations so far Montserrat’s mountain
chickens are fungus free but that
doesn’t mean they’re safe with Kidron
all it takes is for one infected animal
to slip in from another Island Don we’re
in the port of Montserrat because any
arrival of the kited fungus is going to
happen it will probably start here we
have boats that arrive twice a week we
fresh vegetables and fruits guess we’re
from Dominica it would be easy for an
infected frog to hitch a ride in a
shipment of produce and once the fungus
appears in an amphibian population
there’s no way to cure it or stop it
Gerardo thinks it’s just a matter of
time before the fungus comes to
Montserrat so he and his colleagues are
already taking precautions and this
could be their ace in the hole
in the 1990s a series of volcanic
eruptions devastated the southern part
of the island
officials evacuated the area and
designated it an exclusion zone
off-limits to the public but that here
you see is still green all the rest
ashes
what can I never effect that the area so
far and nobody lives there so there is
an opportunity there so there are no
mountains she considered currently no
night no night right now this is the
option that you know you can probably
move animals captive breeding program
maybe a translocation of wild animals
and establish a new population on the
south of the island in his lab back in
England Garcia has already established a
breeding population of mountain chickens
so in 1988 we collected a group of
founders they were 13 frogs come in
relief from Montserrat to develop a
safety net population they now have more
than 60 captive bred mountain chickens
all potential founders for the proposed
new population within the exclusion zone
probably will be the last hope for the
mountain chickens in Montserrat it
something happens in the centre of the
natural populations in the meantime
Garcia and his partners will continue
working to protect the mountain chickens
that remain and for the people of
Montserrat this creature that was once a
national dish will hopefully become a
national success story as well sponsored
by National Geographic mission programs
taking science and explore
into the new millennium
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