Day 6 – Saturday, September 13, 2008. The final day of the workshop for endangered amphibians
The workshop ran smoothly today and we concluded the species evaluation in the morning session. Then something very interesting happened: an officer from the
Instituto de Recursos Naturales (INRENA), the Peruvian agency that oversees wildlife and natural resources for the country, came up with a confiscated batch of
Lake Titicaca frogs (Telmatobius culeus). The illegal shipment was intended for human consumption.
This frog is highly aquatic and lives on the highest navigable body of water on Earth at 3,810 meters above sea level (that’s 2.36 miles up in the sky!!!); it has large skin folds that increase its surface area, allowing more gas exchange, since the air (and water) is so thin and poor in oxygen that high above sea level. The Lake Titicaca frog is also very special because it has cultural and historical importance; unfortunately, the importance stems from the fact that it is used as a food item and an aphrodisiac.
Local folks collect this and other frogs in the genus
Telmatobius from the highlands to sell in local markets. They are eaten in soup or drank in “frog juice”, a very unappealing and inhumane drink made of ground frog, maca root and honey. This concoction seems to be straight from a witch's cookbook and is drank as an aphrodisiac and all-purpose miracle healing drink The frogs are exported to Lima by the thousands. Unfortunately, by the time they arrive in the city, various species are intermixed and the animals are in very poor condition, making it almost impossible and unethical to release them back into the wild.
This event was a real example of why it is so important for all of us to help conserve these frogs and why zoos should come together in an effort to protect these marvelous species!