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While the human population boom in Egypt continues unabated, there is a certain organism that is not so lucky. The croaking of male frogs has always been a familiar sound to the residents of Egypt. In recent years, however, the sound has all but disappeared. The once popular frog population has been steadily on the decrease.
Frogs were once abundant dwellers in the waters of the River Nile. They were so common during the time of the ancient Egyptians that they were called Hefen, the hieroglyphic word for 100,000. The hieroglyphic symbol for Hefen was a tadpole, since frogs gave huge amounts of these offspring. It was such an integral part of the ancient Egyptians' life that they depicted the goddess of fertility as a frog.
Although the Egyptian frog has lived in Egypt since ancient times, it now faces a multiplicity of problems. Once one of the most plentiful life forms in Egypt, it has nearly disappeared. The challenges frogs need to contend with are many, and humans form the bulk of their problems.
Existence Problem
There are seven different types of frogs in Egypt. However, the most common is Bufo regularis, also known as the African common frog or the Egyptian matriculated frog.
Dr. Samy Zalat, a professor of biodiversity and evolutionary biology in Egypt's Ministry of Environment, was the first to acknowledge the problem. "The first thing we need to establish is this: Is there a threat to the frogs?" said Zalat.
He explained that the common frog is facing several challenges. Human expansion has caused extensive habitat damage for the frogs. Destructive pesticides that seep into the sewage system also cause poisoning and even mutation to large numbers of frogs and tadpoles.
In addition to humans, a large number of different predators including snakes, lizards, some crustaceans and even birds endanger frogs. Perhaps the most dangerous predator is the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkia). This invasive pest, introduced from southeastern America for use in aquacultures, has been surging in the River Nile in recent years. It feeds on thousands of toads, severely disrupting the ecosystem.
"The real challenge, however, is from a completely different source," said Zalat. "The real challenge comes from over-cultivation of frogs for use in Egyptian universities."
Dissection Stress
Toads are the most dissected animal in Egyptian universities. Easy collection, transportation, and storage, as well as their cheap price, made them the number one choice for dissections. As an added bonus, their internal systems are very similar to those of most mammals.
All science -related faculties in Egypt, such as the faculties of pharmacy and medicine, have courses that require dissections. In a random survey conducted by Zalat among students from different science faculties, it was found that the average Egyptian student dissects 14 – 17 frogs each year.
"Think about it," said Zalat. "If each student uses up an average of 16 frogs, and we have around 5000 – 7000 students in each of the science colleges, and taking into consideration the fact that we have around 13 public universities in Egypt [with several science faculties in each], we are talking at least about a staggering 1.1 million frogs dissected each year."
In addition, Zalat says not all collected frogs are used. Some are discarded due to their small size and many die due to bad storage. Taking these factors into consideration, the actual number of frogs used each year is closer to 1.5 million frogs.
Rashed El-Refaey is head of a family that makes its living out of collecting animals and plants and selling them to the science faculties. The business has been in the family for many generations, passed down from father to son. Sitting in his traditional jalabiyaa (a long robe worn by many Arabic men) and his traditional scarf and hat, El-Refaey acknowledged the problem facing the frogs.
"Between the faculties of pharmacy and medicine, Cairo University (faculties) alone order around 250,000 frogs from me each year," said El-Refaey. A man in his mid-forties, El-Refaey has a glitter in his eyes when he talks about frogs and shows genuine care and understanding of their problems.
Collection continues for nine months each year, straining the population of frogs even during the mating season.
"In the university where I work, we have started moving towards computer-aided education in classes such as those involving dissecting," said Islam Osman, an instructor in a private university. "However, I don't think we can completely depend on those programs. If you are looking for a teaching career, for example, you must be able to dissect yourself. It is important for you to have done it several times too."
Disastrous Storage Conditions
| "The areas that had large frog populations in the past from which they have disappeared now have seen an obvious increase in the amount of mosquitoes and flies," said El-Refaey. |
The problem is further aggravated by horrible storage conditions. Thousands of frogs are stored in tiny sinks, leading to many dying due to suffocation as they push over one another. Estimates put the number of deaths due to bad storage at 10 percent of all frogs collected.
"The methods of collection, storage, and dissection are in need of major revision," said Zalat. "In addition, the way the frogs are treated during dissection goes against the teachings of all religions. Sometimes, the cheap anesthetics used during dissection wear off and the frogs wake up while they are being dissected. No religion accepts this kind of cruelty towards animals," said Zalat
Up till now, there is no clear mechanism for the disposal of the frogs after dissection. They are usually disposed of along with other refuse, making them a serious health threat to humans and animals.
These ruthless actions also kill any sense of environmental eagerness in the students. They become detached from the problems that face the environment.
Noha Moharram, a student in one of the pharmacy faculties commented, "I don't like dissecting frogs much. I feel like I'm killing a living creature. As a student, however, I only care about studying and succeeding, I don't care about the environment." Her best friend and fellow student, Nesma Bakry agreed and said, "how would they become extinct if they lay so many eggs in the first place?"
"I, along with the frogs, face a serious problem," said El-Refaey passionately. "I used to be able to collect the thousands of frogs requested from me in a short time, but now it has become very difficult. I used to collect from Giza [governorate] but now it's empty, then I moved to El-Mansoura [governorate] but now it's empty. Then I moved to Zakazik and Menia [governorates] and now they're empty too. I now have to travel all the way to the south of Egypt to collect frogs."
Ecosystem at Risk
"People argue that the frog lays a tremendous amount of eggs. However, not all of these survive," Zalat said sadly. "Snakes, eagles, and crustaceans feed on them. Less than 10 percent of those eggs survive to become tadpoles then frogs. We then collect huge amounts from these 10 percent."
According to Zalat, frogs play an integral part in the ecosystem. They are considered keystone organisms, which are creatures that can lead to the collapse of a whole ecosystem if removed. Tadpoles are an important source of food for many fish in the river. The frogs themselves are also food for snakes and other reptiles. Zalat explained that even small variations in the frog populations could have drastic effects on the food chain that depends on it.
"That is why it is very important that we concentrate on keystone species in conservation," he stressed.
Frogs also play an important role in keeping the mosquito and fly populations in check. Small insects form the bulk of frogs' food.
"According to my experience in Giza governorate, the areas that had large frog populations in the past from which they have disappeared now have seen an obvious increase in the amount of mosquitoes and flies," pointed out El-Refaey. The increase in flies and mosquitoes is a health hazard since they carry many diseases and facilitate in spreading them.
El-Refaey, whose family works in the collection of several different animals, expressed his fears that Egypt might run out of frogs like other species before. He used to collect snakes from the Egypt's northern coast lying on the Mediterranean, but now they disappeared. He also gathered scorpions from Sinai, but now he cannot find them anymore.
To try to find a solution for the ecological problem, Zalat organized a series of conferences and workshops in Cairo. "We have no studies about the frog at all in Egypt. Not even about its lifecycle or how long it lives. I'm sorry to say this, but I think there are no studies in Egypt to give us an answer to these questions."
The workshops resulted in some excellent ideas, such as forming frog farms to fulfill the needs of the different universities. Another suggested idea was using computer-aided educational courses in all public universities. "This approach is even more beneficial than dissecting, in my opinion" said Osman. "The programs are highly interactive and the students get to perform a much wider range of experiments than what they would by dissecting."
While these ideas are mostly applicable, collection will continue unabated until policymakers take action. Meanwhile, the sound of the croaking, which many people found annoying, remains sorely missed.
Can the creature that the ancient Egyptians called Hefen because it was so plentiful become endangered?
"Ten years ago, it used to take one hour to collect 1000 frogs. A few months ago, when I was asked to collect frogs quickly, I sent out four people. It took them four days to come back with 140 frogs. That is all they could find," said El-Refaey.
"I'm scared the day might come when we have to buy frogs using [US] dollars and import them from other countries to fulfill the needs of Egyptian universities."
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