Following widespread bird declines in recent years, the dawn chorus has gotten a lot quieter in UK’s woodlands. Now, one of the country’s most famous ‘rewilders’ wants to bring it back to life in a rather unusual way — breeding and releasing noisy tree frogs.
Though common in other countries in Europe, tree frogs have become extinct in the UK, and some conservationists are currently at work to bring back the species. One of these conservationists is Derek Gow, one of Britain’s top ‘rewilders’ and the man behind many of the country’s beaver reintroduction projects.
Joining wildcats, iron age ponies, beavers, glow worms, and storks, tree frogs are now among the main tenants on Mr. Gow’s farm, where he breeds animals that are endangered or extinct in the UK.
While the baby frogs Gow is currently tending are far from being quiet guests, he doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, he relishes their chirps and hopes to house the animals outside when they have grown enough:
“They are noisy but it’s the sound of life! We have created a silent planet because we have smothered and muffled the sound of all other life. What’s the issue with noise – we need lots of noise!”
“We have lost so many species from Britain. We should make every effort to bring back as many as we can, as widely as we can. Writers and poets wrote of frogs singing in the British landscape. I’d love to see and hear tree frogs back here” agreed Ben Goldsmith from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
