Frogs with CLAWS from sub-Saharan Africa are invading parts of Florida (msn.com)
This animal has been documented in Central Florida since at least 1996 and in California since the 60s (no mention of that population from our friend from NY) according to USGS ( African Clawed Frog - Collections (usgs.gov) ). Many people who live in the region have known about them for years. The media drums up these stories and it feeds the narrative that this hobby is a major threat to the environment. I personally believe the reason the California population is left out is because Florida is the center of the pet trade. Tropical fish bounce around as the top 3 freight items out of Tampa International Airport. I am surprised they didn't blame the pet trade outright in this article. This frog was very important to the medical research community as it was one of the first reusable pregnancy tests. It replaced rabbits that had to be killed to check the results, the frogs ovulated in a positive test. After chemical tests came out the frogs entered the pet trade.
This animal has been documented in Central Florida since at least 1996 and in California since the 60s (no mention of that population from our friend from NY) according to USGS ( African Clawed Frog - Collections (usgs.gov) ). Many people who live in the region have known about them for years. The media drums up these stories and it feeds the narrative that this hobby is a major threat to the environment. I personally believe the reason the California population is left out is because Florida is the center of the pet trade. Tropical fish bounce around as the top 3 freight items out of Tampa International Airport. I am surprised they didn't blame the pet trade outright in this article. This frog was very important to the medical research community as it was one of the first reusable pregnancy tests. It replaced rabbits that had to be killed to check the results, the frogs ovulated in a positive test. After chemical tests came out the frogs entered the pet trade.
