Grootbos Expands and Protects Micro Frogs in Agulhas

Last week, the Grootbos Foundation head office moved to new premises on the neighbouring farm called Waterkop. This is the original farm name of what was Bellavista.

The conservation team will now have a bit more room to breathe - until now, 7 of our fynbos-loving scientists were sharing a single lab at Grootbos! We’ll share more photos as the team stretches into new spaces.

It’s also been a froggy week! We’ve been busy with our Micro Frog monitoring, placing a songmeter array at seven sites between two major wetlands. These record the males’ calls so we can estimate population size. This one was set up at our second site in the Ratel River section of Agulhas National Park.

The toads are on the move too. To help protect them from roadkill in urban areas, we’ve placed warning signs at high-risk spots around Stanford.

And finally, an amorous pair of Western Leopard Toads were spotted heading to a small dam in the Conservancy to lay their eggs.

Easier heard than seen - Kurt managed to spot this adult male Micro Frog popping his head above the water while he was moving the songmeters.