KwaZulu Natal Coast, South Africa
Pickersgill’s Reed Frog is a Critically Endangered species that occurs at only fourteen small isolated sites along the KwaZulu-Natal coastline in South Africa. Only two of these sites fall within protected areas and five sites occur within the greater city of Durban (eThekwini Municipality). The species is a habitat specialist, restricted to dense reed-beds in coastal wetlands, habitat that was once widespread but that has continually been destroyed by industry and agriculture. Most remaining populations occur in habitat that is already degraded to some degree or face threats in the near future (for example the Mount Moreland population in the vicinity of the newly constructed King Shaka airport, Durban International) and at Prospector, which is likely to be completely eliminated by the proposed development of a new Durban Port. Other smaller sites are under constant threat from urban development and general lack of management. A critical conservation intervention is thus the urgent protection of sites with extant populations. Four sites, making up about 30% of the known population, have been identified as priority sites. Two of these could be protected through a stewardship program with the existing landowners and the other two sites would need to be purchased first and then managed through the provincial conservation authority.
A small breeding program has recently been created at the Pretoria Zoo and Johannesburg Zoo. Article