Submitted by Michael Rechsteiner on the 2020 winter session program in Dominica sponsored by the Department of Geography…
On Tuesday, January 28, I had the privilege to join a wildlife conservation group to capture and eliminate invasive Cuban tree frogs. The Cuban tree frog is an invasive species that came to the country of Dominica via an import vessel, and because they are so much larger, they pose a serious threat to eliminating the Dominican tree frog. Thus, the work I did with the wildlife conservation group was very purposeful and fulfilling. Growing up, catching frogs was always a hobby of mine, so this experience was a dream come true for me. It was very satisfying for me to know that my frog hunting efforts were contributing to saving the indigenous tree frogs. While hunting, it was also cool to observe the environment that the tree frogs were inhabiting. I remember learning that the Cuban tree frogs could multiply so quickly because they can nest in any small pool of water, and low and behold, the area in which we were hunting the frogs was full of swampy puddles and short shrub like trees. Lastly, I was fascinated by the ease of catching the frogs once we could spot them. I learned that the frogs believe they are camouflaged, thus as a defense mechanism they stay as still as possible which is great for our hunting purposes.
