Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis
tiger-leg leaf frog
Photo by Zig Leszczynski

The tiger-leg leaf frog (Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis) gets its name, as you can clearly see here, from the Asian tiger stripes adorning its skinny limbs. One might just as easily have taken its name from an African cat, since its side markings closely resemble a leopard skin. Either name, however, serves poorly as a geographical reference for this South American species, whose nearest large cat neighbor is the jaguar.

Throughout South America and the world, frogs are disappearing faster than most other wildlife -- even the much-publicized tigers, leopards, and jaguars, whose primary threat is habitat loss. Frogs face this threat, too, but they are also highly sensitive to subtle ecological changes like environmental pollution.

Rather than battling either threat individually, the Rainforest Alliance takes a holistic approach to tropical conservation, creating alternatives to deforestation and also dramatically reducing pollution from agriculture and forestry. Amphibians, mammals, and all threatened species need our help.