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London Zoo breeds 15 critically endangered Afia Birago's puddle frogs, a first under human care

London Zoo says 15 Afia Birago's puddle frogs, a critically endangered Ghanaian species, have hatched. It describes this as the first breeding of the species under human care.

2 outlets · 1L · 0C · 1R First reported Account updated
Image: Daily Express
Image: Metro

1 / 2

The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2London Zoo has announced the birth of 15 Afia Birago's puddle frogs, a critically endangered species, which it describes as the first time the species has bred under human care. Mixed · 2The froglets are about 5mm long. Ben Tapley, curator of reptiles and amphibians at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), said they are small enough to sit on a fingertip but are a 'huge step forward' for the species. Mixed · 2The births follow the arrival of 20 adult frogs from Ghana in September last year, under an emergency conservation programme run with Herp Conservation Ghana and the CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana.

Mixed · 2The species was described as new to science eight years ago. It is known to survive in only two pools in Ghana's Atewa Hills Forest Reserve, where mining is destroying its habitat and it faces imminent extinction. Left · 1Metro reports that the frogs were moved to London because there was limited experience of caring for the species in captivity and equipment was hard to source locally. Mixed · 2ZSL amphibian keeper Unnar Aevarsson said almost nothing was known about the frogs when they arrived, and that the team has since developed the knowledge, techniques and breeding protocols to give them the best chance of survival. He had earlier travelled to Ghana to help set up a conservation breeding facility in Kumasi, which ZSL describes as the first dedicated to amphibian conservation in West Africa.

Mixed · 2The stated goal is for partners to establish sustainable conservation populations in Ghana to support recovery in the wild. Aevarsson said the work 'has only just begun'. Left · 1Metro adds that Ghanaian conservationist Caleb Ofori-Boateng, who helped describe the species, named it after his mother. Dr Kwame Antwi Oduro, director of the CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, said the collaboration builds skills and facilities Ghana needs to safeguard its own threatened wildlife. Visitors can see the programme at the zoo's Secret Life of Reptiles and Amphibians.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left1 outlet

Framing
Metro leads with a 'world first' and a 'miracle', and gives the fullest account of the Ghanaian partners and the programme.
Emphasis
Partnership with Ghana, quotes from Ghanaian conservationists, the reasons for moving the frogs, and visiting details.
Leaves out or plays down
Broadly matches the Express on the core facts; no significant omissions.
Charged language
“‘Miracle’”
For example
“Staff at London Zoo are celebrating a world first” — Metro

Centre0 outlets

No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Right1 outlet

Framing
The Daily Express presents a 'wildlife miracle' and a boost for animals at risk of extinction, in a shorter piece built on ZSL quotes.
Emphasis
The scale of the threat and ZSL's quotes on the breakthrough.
Leaves out or plays down
Leaves out the Ghanaian conservationists' quotes, the reason the frogs were moved to London, and visitor information.
Charged language
“Wildlife miracle”“imminent extinction”
For example
“Fifteen of the world’s "rarest" frogs have been born at London Zoo in a huge boost for the critically endangered species.” — Daily Express

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