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Thread: AK Press x2: Frogs riding north on Christmas trees

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    Default AK Press x2: Frogs riding north on Christmas trees

    ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS (Alaska) 18 December 09 Wanted, dead or alive: Frogs riding north on Christmas trees (James Halpin)
    Pacific chorus frogs have shown up in the Anchorage area, hitchhiking their way in on imported Christmas trees, and state wildlife officials want them turned in -- dead or alive.
    While fish and game officials say the critters may not be a threat in and of themselves, there's a danger of diseases they could be carrying.
    Reports of the amphibious invaders began surfacing in the past two weeks, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is urging residents to check their trees for "amphibious hitchhikers they may be unaware they purchased."
    "These 'live ornaments' may seem like a bonus purchase, but they are outside their native range," said Tammy Davis, Invasive Species Program project leader for Fish and Game. "While we don't suspect they will become invasive, a greater concern is the risk to our native amphibians if they are carrying pathogens of concern."
    Residents were urged to kill or surrender the stowaways when found. The recommended method of taking out a tiny croaker? A dose of toothache anesthetic to the head.
    "The way to humanely euthanize them is to use an overdose of Orajel, and I think it just knocks them out," Davis said. "The other thing we were asking people to do is stick it in their freezer. I know that there are people who are not going to want to do that, but I'm sure people probably aren't going to go out and buy Orajel just so that they can humanely get rid of the frog that they didn't even really want."
    Officials have thus far gotten two reports of frogs in Christmas trees, at least one of them purchased at Bell's Nurseries. A message for the nursery owner was not returned Thursday.
    Davis said the shipment of trees at that retailer came from Orting, Wash., and reportedly had an inspection stamp on it. It wasn't known how large the shipment was, but the retailer told officials there were only a few left.
    Pacific Chorus frogs are between three-quarters of an inch to 2 inches with a rounded snout and a conspicuous dark mask, according to the University of Alaska Anchorage. The frogs have been introduced to Revillagigedo Island in Southeast but are otherwise not found in Alaska. They get their name from the "kreck-ek" chorus -- led by a dominant male called a "chorus master" -- produced during spawning season, according to UAA.
    One disease wildlife officials are concerned they could be carrying is the chytrid fungus, a major threat to amphibians that has caused amphibian deaths and population declines in several continents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials don't yet know if the frogs here are infected, Davis said.
    "That exactly why we're asking people to bring them to us, so that they can be sampled for the fungus," Davis said.
    Frogs should be reported by calling 1-877-INVASIVE. They can be turned in to zoologist Tracey Gotthardt, who can be reached at 257-2782.
    This is not the first time in recent years Alaska has gotten a shipment of Christmas trees with unwanted guests. More than 3,100 Douglas, noble and grand fir trees from Oregon bound for Hawaii was diverted to Anchorage in December 2007 after inspectors found several types of wasps not found in Hawaii, including two yellow jacket queens and a type of hornet.
    Hawaii, isolated as it is, has strict requirements on its agricultural imports, requiring all Christmas trees to be mechanically shaken, said Tom Wessels, Plant Services program manager with the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
    "Christmas trees are tough because they're bushy," Wessels said. "That's why they have these shakers, because they really do shake loose the stuff. And you'd be surprised what comes out of those trees."
    Washington, however, has no export requirements of its own on exports and only does what the receiving state requires, he said. A typical inspection would include examining a sample of the trees -- 2 percent is the general standard, he said.
    Franci Havemeister, director of the Alaska Division of Agriculture, said Alaska does not require its imported trees to be shaken.
    "I believe that the old sense was the fact that because it's so cold we'd kill everything," Havemeister said. "That mentality is changing a lot."
    Wanted, dead or alive: Frogs riding north on Christmas trees: Alaska News | adn.com

    KTUU (Anchorage, Alaska) 18 December 09 State's advice on Christmas tree frogs has one woman hopping mad (Jason Lamb)
    Anchorage, Alaska: The state says frogs hitching a ride to Anchorage on Christmas trees could introduce an outside fungus to Alaska and kill native amphibians.
    Officials have suggested a method to euthanize the frogs with numbing toothache medicines like Orajel, but that method is raising some eyebrows.
    Most people keep dishes in their kitchen sink, but not reptile rescuer Maria von Koehnen.
    "Everybody gets a bath in the morning," von Koehnen said, explaining the iguanas and turtles taking turns in her sink.
    "It's a habit," von Koehnen explains as she tears a layer of molted skin free of an iguana's leg. "I can't stand that."
    What's tearing her up Friday is something she saw on the news the night before: a warning to watch out for frogs native to the Pacific Northwest on Christmas trees. For von Koehnen, the problem isn't the frogs -- it's what the state's asked people to do with them if they find them.
    Von Koehnen says she's been involved in reptile rescue for years, and that the state's suggestion to put Orajel on the frogs' heads is exactly the wrong thing to do.
    "They start having massive seizures," von Koehnen said. "It's just like giving someone an overdose of medication they're allergic to, and not doing a thing about it. That upset me so -- I was so livid!"
    "That instruction to use Orajel (to humanely euthanize the frog) came from what has been the protocol by Hawaiian biologists," said Tammy Davis with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
    Von Koehnen says a better solution is to let the professionals deal with it.
    "Just take them to Fish and Game," von Koehnen said. "Let Fish and Game deal with them, don't try to do home remedies that are going to make it -- this poor frog suffer. It's not fair to that frog."
    Fish and Game says there have been only two reports of the frogs foiling holiday cheer this year, one of them from Bell's Nursery in Anchorage.
    "One of the customers apparently took the tree home and a frog popped out," said Bell's employee Mike Mosesian. "And we were rather surprised because we haven't seen frogs ever in these trees."
    Mosesian says his staff always shakes their trees to get rid of any unwelcome guests -- even if there are only a couple cases so far.
    "I know that might seem like a very small number to have put out a news release, but invasive species are a serious issue," Davis said.
    And if you find one this year, the state says to turn it in to them or use the Orajel.
    Von Koehnen hopes you'll choose the first option.
    "That just broke my heart," von Koehnen said. "I was so pissed."
    If you do come across one of those unwelcome Christmas critters, you can call Fish and Game at 1-877-468-2748.
    State's advice on Christmas tree frogs has one woman hopping mad - KTUU.com | Alaska's news and information source |

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