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Making a case for frogs Back in the '80s, the director of my summer camp had to ask campers and staff to cease and desist from games of froggie baseball. It seemed our pastime, which involved swatting the cute little amphibians with canoe paddles, was threatening the local frog population and contributing to an already itchy mosquito problem (less frogs means more bugs). Now it appears that we major-league hopefuls were not alone in posing a threat to Kermit's survival. Amphibian populations across North America are in decline. Last weekend, frogman and McGill University biology professor David Green made an impassioned case for salamanders, frogs and toads at a conference on extinction and endangered species hosted by McGill. Green (his real name) cites deforestation, pond drainage and "unwise" use of pesticides as some of the factors contributing to amphibian population decline, and he is lobbying for new legislation to protect his webbed friends. He is co-chair of the reptiles and amphibians section of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). It is rumoured among Green's students that he has licked hallucinogenic toads and that, baby, it ain't no hippie myth. But Green laughed when informed of his reputation and replied, "If you're going to lick a toad, you better have some mouthwash on hand." -Dominique Ritter
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