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In the United Kingdom today the amphibian popuation is swiftly dwindling and faces long term survival challenges of almost overwhelming proportions. The key factors lending to this decline are habitat loss, pollution and disease. Many experts concur that unless something significant is done we could see the loss of these amazing animals in our lifetime.

When i think myself back to my childhood days I recollect many a fine day as a boy with my friends at the local ponds or the brook, endless summer daytimes catching frogs and newts and sticklebacks (we always let them go!). It was a terrific childhood.

A few years ago I travelled back to the region I grew up in, in that location is now a car park where those fantastic old pools were. The brook is fouled and looked stagnant and devoid of life. These days in our over-developed urban areas such habitats are getting rarer and rarer.

Habitat loss is the dark, hidden side of development, it is relentless and its final. The development of umpteen sites has been checked and stopped when discovered to be home to natterjack toads or great-crested newts, our 2 most rare & wonderful amphibians.

There was a well publicized example recently where a colony of great-crested newts was resettled, at a great expense, to make way for a new runway at Manchester Airport.

Still the amount of waterways and ponds that were not fortuitous enough to house either of these two species and have been developed total in the thousands, extraordinary numbers of Newts, toads and frogs eliminated and the tremendous biodiversity of plants, animals and insects that dwelled there exterminated too.

As if this is not sufficient to deal with, the spectre of dangerous viral contagions wont go away. The frog population in the South East of the nation has already experienced devastating outbreaks of Ranavirus. A non-native amphibian species is thought to have brought Ranavirus into the United Kingdom, most probably from North America.There is no cure at present. It can also infect the Common Toad and all 3 of our newt species.

Fortuitously, the rising popularity of natural gardening techniques and practices proposes a glimmer of hope in the struggle for the future of these unreplaceable and charming animals. Although there is no defence against the Ranavirus, anyone could effectively and easily contribute to the amount of possible habitat they have. Simple to create and manage, a wildlife pool will fascinate and educate all ages and can look truly stunning.

Even a very small simple pond can become an oasis. Absorbing for all of the year with its numerous inhabitants. So make time for a piece of nature in your life, your youngsters lives. Go build yourself a wildlife pool and do your bit!

Mark Best writes articles that help people to design the perfect Pond for every Garden. And how to choose the right equipment, such as the right Garden Pond Pump for your needs.

categories: amphibians,animals,wildlife pond,garden pond,gardening,landscaping,home and family,family

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