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Josh's Frogs

Conservation Initiatives

Josh's Frogs strives to connect people with nature. We strongly believe that the keeping and breeding of animals in captivity should have a direct, positive link to wild populations. We've put theory to action with our Josh's Frogs Conservation Initiatives. Through direct partnerships with key conservation players (where every animal sold results in money going directly to conservation in the field) and annual grants. we're determined to make a difference!

Permanent Conservation Partners
Costa Rica, Madagascar, Panama
2023 Conservation Grant Recipients
Chile, United States, Vietnam, Virgin Islands
2022 Conservation Grant Recipients
Ecuador, Grenada, Madagascar, Panama, Uganda, United States
2021 Conservation Grant Recipients
Chile, China, Columbia, Madagascar, Nepal, Panama, Uganda
2020 Conservation Grant Recipients
Panama, Uganda, United States, Venezuela

Conservation Partnerships

When the situation allows, we work with partners around the world to provide funding directly from the sale of specific animals. In these circumstances, we try to pair our success with a specific species or group of animals directly with the conservation of that species or group in the wild.
Association MitsinjoMadagascar2014 to present
This was our first Conservation Initiative. For every mantella we sell on the site, we provide $5 to Association Mitsinjo to help monitor native amphibian populations, conduct husbandry research, and maintain assurance colonies of mantellas in order to prevent extinction. For more information, visit our blog. Association Mitsinjo was a conservation grant recipient for $500 in 2022.
Costa Rican Amphibian Research CenterCosta Rica2020 to present
We're excited to pair our success with the endangered Lemur Tree Frog directly with their survival in the wild. We're working with Brian Kubicki to donate $5 for every Lemur Tree Frog sold on the site to the CRARC, where funds will be used to restore rainforest and help increase wild Lemur Tree Frog populations. For more information, visit our blog.
Natural Tanks, Sam SucrePanama2021 to present
Sam and his team in Panama City produce healthy, captive-bred Panamanian native amphibians for export as a way to fund their research, education, and conservation goals. They even donate a portion of funds raised to other Panamanian NGOs focused on conservation! Josh's Frogs imports animals from Natural Tanks to offer to our customers which further supports their noble goals. Natural tanks was a conservation grant recipient for $1,500 in 2022.

Conservation Grant Recipients

Using funds generated by our captive breeding projects, Josh's Frogs hands out annual grants to those working to directly conserve amphibians in the wild, or to those conducting research that may aid in conservation. This part of our Conservation Initiatives started in 2020, and we hope to see it grow every year. Preserve habitat, educate the public, and save frogs!
Proyecto AnfibiaChile2023
We awarded $1,500 to fund this organization’s assessment and monitoring of the endangered Cantillana spiny-chest frog, Alsodes cantillanensis, a recently described species. To learn more about their project, read our blog.
Memphis ZooUnited States2023
We awarded $1,000 to fund the Zoo’s comparative study of amphibian parasites in urban sites and natural forested sites around Memphis. To learn more about their project, read our blog.
WANEE VietnamVietnam2023
We awarded $1,000 to fund WANEE’s herpetological surveys of Ba Den Mountain, an island of biodiversity surrounded by agriculture in southern Vietnam. The mountain’s wildlife is increasingly threatened by development. To learn more about their project, read our blog.
Staten Island ZooVirgin Islands2023
We awarded $500 to support their ongoing conservation assessment of the mute coqui, Eleutherodactylus lentus, an endangered and poorly understood amphibian native to the Virgin Islands. To learn more about their project, read our blog.
Glacial Lakes ConservancyUnited States2023
We awarded $500 to support their acoustic amphibian monitoring and biodiversity assessment on the Conservancy’s Willow Creek Preserve in Sheboygan, WI. To learn more about their project, read our blog.
Amphibian FoundationUnited States2023
We awarded $500 to support their captive rearing and propagation of the endangered frosted flatwoods salamander, Ambystoma cingulatum, which has suffered a 90% population loss since 2000. AF is working closely with state and federal agencies to save this species from extinction. To learn more, read our blog.
Auburn University, Dallas World Aquarium, Zoológico de CaliUnited States2023
We awarded $500 to support this international collaborative study of nutritional variables that influence captive breeding success with the endangered Lehmann's poison frog, Oophaga lehmanni. To learn more, read our blog.
Biodiversity GroupEcuador2022
The Biodiversity Group received $1,000 to assist in efforts in Equador to protect species of glassfrogs. This funding will, along with grants from other donors, fund their field team's travel between the Rio Manduriacu Reserve and Quito; time-sensitive transport of live individuals of the Mindo glassfrog to the amphibian breeding center, Centro Jambatu; to support for reserve guards and local community members for their assistance; food for the expedition, including salary for cooks that will be hired from the local community near the reserve; mule rental from the local community for gear and food transport to the study area within the canyon; and motorbike use from local community members.
Reptile Youth AllianceUnited States2022
The Reptile Youth Alliance received $1,000 to help fund their goal to host a National Research Conference. Through the annual Reptile Youth Alliance Research Conference, hundreds of the nation’s students are challenged to go beyond their classroom studies to do independent project-based research. They work independently or in teams to address questions in the field of herpetology, a branch of zoology that deals with the study of reptiles and amphibians.
Safari Lake GenevaGrenada2022
This conservation group was awarded $500 to purchase temperature and humidity loggers that provide data about the microhabitat fluctuations at habitat sites of the Grenada frog. Like many amphibians, the Grenada frog has a narrow tolerance range for temperature and moisture extremes. Monitoring microhabitat temperatures and precipitation is critical to understanding fluctuating observations.
Ridgeview ConservancyUnited States2022
A donation of $500 will be used for the installation of a “Salamander Crossing” sign near vulnerable wetlands in Princeton, New Jersey. These wetlands, no more than 3 meters from the road, are a home to the spotted salamander in addition to numerous other amphibian species. This sign will help to instill caution in drivers as well as to spark an interest in herpetology and amphibian conservation in the community. This funding will also be used to create reusable waterproof field guides for volunteers and students to use in identifying and learning about the spotted salamander and other local species. This grant will also be applied toward development and implementation of a vernal pool education workshop, teaching about the importance of wetlands in our ecosystems and how they provide a breeding ground for the foundation of the food web, from macroinvertebrates to amphibians.
Elgon Wildlife Conservation OrganizationUganda202220212020
EWCO received $500, three separate times, to help promote frog conservation using Leptopelis karissimbensis as a flagship species to develop workable conservation strategies for other frog species in Uganda. Grant money will be used to help form a conservation program for the frog named above, which would serve as a model for future Ugandan conservation projects, as well as educate the citizens of Uganda about the importance of amphibians. For more info, read our interview with their Founder, Dr. James Watuwa.
Saving the living fossil Calyptocephalella gayiUganda2021
We sent $1500 to protect the ancient frog species commonly known as the Chilean Helmeted Toad. The grant will be used to fund field research, which hopes to determine: population density and dynamics, threats, and impacts of exotic species. It will also support educational conservation-based programs for people who live within the native range of C. gayi, and to develop in-situ conservation measures for this unusual frog.
Dendrobatidae NederlandColumbia2021
$1000 in grant monies will be used for long term, in-situ conservation of Andinobates dorisswansonae and A. tolimensis – two endangered species of poison frogs. The funds will also go towards the protection of forest guards, who have been specially trained to protect the native habitat of these animals. They have recently come under attack from poachers and illegal lumbermen, agriculture, and even the local media. Read our interview with Sander Bauer, the Secretary of Dendrobatidae Nederland.
Biodiversity Research and Conservation SocietyNepal2021
The single species of salamander in Nepal (Tylototriton himalayanus) is under threat from human activities. This animal was only recently described to science and is an important indicator species in the region. $1000 in grant money will be used to form Salamander Conservation Groups at 3 known population locations, conduct conservation education concerning the salamander and its wetland environment, install trash bins and educational signing at the three known populations, and local trash pickup in their native habitat.
Madagasikara VoakajyMadagascar2021
We’ve provided $500 to help fund research and monitoring trips for one of Madagascar’s rarest and most endangered amphibians – the Harlequin Mantella (Mantella cowanii). Found in highlands where almost all forest habitat has been lost due to human activity, this brightly colored frog is in need of help! Grant money will go towards supporting the first year of field work for the Mantella Action Plan, which will develop recommendations, guidelines, and strategies for helping these amazing frogs survive for years to come.
Nanjing Forestry UniversityChina, France2021
$500 in grant funding will be used to purchase a drone and support equipment for native and invasive amphibian monitoring in the south of France, as well as population surveys for a poorly known species of tree frog in China.
El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center (EVACC)Panama20212020
We sent $500, twice, to EVACC to aid in surveying rainforest canopy habitat in order to try and find endangered tree frog species, which they can then collect and breed for conservation efforts. In the past, they have rediscovered several 'extinct' species this way. Grant money will be spent on climbing equipment and labor needed for this expedition. Here's an interview with their Founder, Edgardo Griffith.
Rescue of Endangered Venezuelan Amphibians (REVA) Conservation CenterVenezuela2020
REVA received a $1000 grant, which will be used to carry out field expeditions to detect wild populations and to recover biogeographic and ecological data that will help to establish a captive husbandry colony in REVA's ex situ facilities. Want to learn more? Check out our interview with the Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Enrique La Marca.
Harris Center for Conservation EducationUnited States2020
We awarded a $500 grant to the Harris Center's Salamander Brigade to help with their work protecting migrating amphibians during the 2021 field season. The grant will be used to help create a new Staff Ecologist position. Please read this blog for more information.