Posted on 10/09/2004 9:44:46 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Chris Giorni knows his plops. As a herpetologist, his ear is trained to distinguish the distinctive belly-flops of rare frogs landing in remote ditches, creeks and coves.
But oh what a splash one of his latest discoveries has caused.
Lying in wait, khakis waist deep in water, camera at the ready, Giorni says he encountered a California red-legged frog on a piece of Half Moon Bay property slated for one of the biggest developments the coast has seen in two decades.
Giorni's photos of the threatened frog have put the brakes on the controversial Wavecrest Village. They've also raised suspicion among some in this seaside hamlet who wonder whether project opponents planted the frog just before a crucial environmental review. There's even a new riddle bandying about town: ``When is a frog not a frog? When it's a plant.''
Absurd, says Giorni. He's miffed by the suggestion that somebody would tamper with nature -- especially him, an adjunct teacher with the California Academy of Sciences -- for political gain. And besides, he said, if this wasn't frog habitat, ``if you had one, and put it out there, it would die.''
Since the discovery this summer, state and federal biologists have descended on the property and declared the scraggly coyote brush and ponds as suitable habitat for both the frog and the endangered San Francisco garter snake. However, they didn't see a frog for themselves. ..
--snip--
Wavecrest's biologists say they had scoured the property for years but never stumbled upon one of the slimy pomegranate-colored amphibians. Now, developers must scramble to protect the frog because it's on both state and U.S. threatened species lists.
``Usually this kind of information comes up early on and developers work around it,'' said Dave Johnston, a biologist with state Fish and Game.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
...oh, and did I mention that cold-blooded reptiles like salamanders like to rest on steel rails, since it helps them regulate their body heat?
MMMmmmm TASTY!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME??
I wouldn't be surprised at all that this "frog" is a plant.
Oh yes, and those fires they started, that was accidental.
LOL!!
That wouldn't be one of them "Freudian Slips" would it?
Heheheh.
uhh,, lips :-)
I don't know about Piggy (Frank Oz), but I knew the lady who performed Spamela Hamderson (the busty pig on the baywatch skits on Muppets Tonight) and she would have shown that little froggy a thing or two.
Kalifornia has their frogs, we in WY have our wolves and grizzlies. It's all B.S.
Here is a concept many cannot grasp: "It's just a freakin' frog/bear/wolf/toad/plant/mouse, whatever."
In my neck of the woods, the environazis tried to stop a DNR shooting range because the noise would disturb a "rare" salamander species a nearby pond. Nevermind that the salamander was quite common in the area and they can't hear anyway.
Yeah, but at least they don't have to put special fences around the school yards to keep the stupid frogs out.
I'll be lurking on dialup until Bellsouth clears the line/dsl problems we're having. Until then, consider me a Silent Key.
No problem. I can even take you off the list until you get it staightened out if you wish. Just let me know.
I would it were not true.
I read the article this morning in the local paper. My favorite part was:
He obviously has not heard of the Lynx hair plants. And just because it is frog habitat does not mean they were there to start with. I hate news articles that have no logic in them.
Even if one were to (...bend *way* over backwards and) give him the benefit of the doubt...that doesn't discount the possibility(...er...probability?) that someone ELSE did so. It's NOT like he's the ONLY one in the state who'd be interested in having such a critter "found" in that area.
ELSEwhere in the article I note...``You only sight one frog in three years? Come on,'' said Susan Stuart, one of the doubters, a cancer researcher who sent one of dozens of letters to the local newspaper on the topic. Her take: ``In my business -- biotechnology -- the frog finding would have been laughed out of the scientific journals.''
BTTT!!!!!!!
It's a frog!!! Who cares??? The woodponds are full of them where I live. Trust me, there will always be enough.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.