N.C. Aquarium folks feeling a little 'froggy'

Jannette Pippin of the Jacksonville Daily News recently wrote an interesting article stating that the N.C. Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores is celebrating the "Year of the Frog" by "joining in a global campaign to promote amphibian conservation and to make the public aware of a crisis at hand."

According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and its partners in the yearlong initiative, frogs and their fellow amphibians are rapidly disappearing.

"There are 6,000 known species of amphibians in the world. Two thousand to 3,000 of them are at risk of extinction in our lifetime," said Windy Arey-Kent, education curator at the aquarium.

That makes now a good time to be frog-friendly, and the aquarium designated Valentine's Day as Kiss a Frog Day to gear up for a Leap Day kickoff of the Year of the Frog campaign at zoos and aquariums across the country.

All three of North Carolina's aquariums are AZA-accredited facilities and are participating in the campaign. ...

And whether or not you are a fan of the frog, there's good reason to keep them and their fellow amphibians around.

"They are bio indicators, and wherever there are a lot of amphibians, there is a healthy environment," Arey-Kent said. ...