01 Dec A naturalist experiment. A rare amphibian species will be bred. Its sound is often used in films
Gazeta Wyborcza informs about our project: The naturalists from the Świętokrzyskie and Nadnidziadzkie Landscape Parks Complex want to save populations of the fire-bellied toad. They have already bought two containers in which the amphibians are to reproduce.
In our country there are two species of toads from the bombina family – the fire-bellied toad and the yellow-bellied toad. The former is one of the 12 species found in Ponidzie. Since it is under strict protection and its population is very small, the naturalists from the Świętokrzyskie and Nadnidziańskie Landscape Parks Complex want to increase its number.
They are to reproduce in a container
The project received EU support, the experiment is conducted under the supervision of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
– “We bought two containers, aquariums of sorts, that we will put in the ground. For the time being, three toads will be living there, they will be able to spend the winter there in peace and we hope that in the spring their number will increase. Then we will release the amphibians to the Nida area,” explains Dariusz Wiech, a specialist from the ZŚiNPK.
He says that the fire-bellied toad is a small amphibian, 6 centimeters long. The fire-bellied toad differs from the yellow-bellied toad in the color of spots on the stomach. The former has yellow and the latter has red spots.
Toad sounds like in the movies
When frightened, it falls on its back. – It bends its limbs in a characteristic way and shows its belly and the red spots on it. For a predator this is a very strange behavior. The red color in the world of nature means that something is venomous, dangerous, harmful – Dariusz Wiech explains.
The toad also emits toxic compounds, as a result of which it does not have too many enemies in the natural environment
Dariusz Wiech says that although the fiery bellied toad looks a bit like a regular toad, it does not croak. – The sound that the fire-bellied toad emits is one of the most frequently used in various types of films, next to wolves, the cuckoo, or the tawny owl – he adds.
Nida is the longest river in the Świętokrzyskie voivodeship. It is over 150 km long.
Link to the source: https://kielce.wyborcza.pl/kielce/7,47262,26405220,ciekawy-projekt-beda-rozmnazac-kumaki.html