Some good news from the animal front. In a time where the Red List of threatened animals becomes bigger every day, fortunately there are some exceptions to the rule. The adorable and tiny Tree Frog is one of few species that seem to have thrived lately.
For many years, there were only a handful of places in the Netherlands where Tree Frog populations exist. As these sparse populations grew bigger and bigger, conservation agencies thought of creating new populations of the 4 cm (adults, juveniles are about 1 cm long) frogs in other suitable places.
After a period of research and further improvement of suitable habitats, the first batches of Tree Frogs, taken as spawn from several of the existing populations, have now been released into the wild. One of the locations of choice is very close to my home and I was asked by the conservation officer to cover the happening with my camera. Of course, I was happy to do so, as it was a great opportunity to also take some photos of the Tree Frogs.
Above is an image of a Tree Frog from the first batch of 160 individuals. The second batch of about the same size was released at a very bad time, photographically speaking. Thunder, rain and no light at all prevented me from taking any sharp images. Well, at least now I know where to look for them. Finding them is another thing though. Lets hope these juvenile porcelain frogs reach maturity and are able to reproduce and sustain a new and healthy population.
Tree Frog; Canon 1D Mark III w. 90/2,8; 1/125s at F4 and ISO 400; Gitzo tripod