Our trucks often get a lot of attention driving down the road, something about a 10’ tall frog peering out at you that causes a second glance. A few months back I received an e-mail from someone that had spotted one of our trucks in Seattle, his name was Ron Gagliardo, he works with an organization called “Amphibian Ark”. A few days later we met for coffee and he told me about an innovative project they are involved with called “Amphibian Pods” or as Ron calls them, Frogboxes!
These ones aren’t used for moving though, they’re used to study, breed, and rescue entire species of frogs. The frogboxes Ron is talking about are actually modified shipping containers. You start with an insulated shipping container, outfit it with the plumbing/electrical needed, fill it with the necessary tanks and supplies, and you have a mobile lab that can be shipped anywhere in the world, an amphibian pod (see picture above).
Frogs are a bio-indicator, this means like a canary in a coal mine, they are often the first ones to let us know if something is wrong in an ecosystem. They have permeable skin that is extremely sensitive to chemicals and other environmental disturbances in the environment. Unfortunately, hundreds of species of frogs are on the decline around the world. These amphibian pods could change that, just one pod outfitted and placed in the correct area could save an entire species of frog. “Amphibian Ark estimates that about 500 rescue pods [Amphibian Pods] are needed to save the world’s critically endangered amphibian species”
It is much more glamorous for organizations to invest in rescuing large mammals, because of this, one challenge the amphibian rescue community has is obtaining funding and raising awareness for projects like amphibian pods. The cost of buying, outfitting, and installing a single container is roughly $50,000. This is one of many reasons FrogBox is happy to partner with such great organizations as Woodland Park Zoo, Save The Frogs, and Ducks Unlimited to work towards saving these endangered species of frogs and restoring frog habitat throughout North America.