Scientists Are Worried at Rising Number of Mysterious Frog Deaths in Australia

Scientist Jodi Rowley has been collecting frozen dead frogs from her porch amid Sydney's lockdown. Occasionally, one will come in the mail dry and shriveled.

She'll store them in an esky with ice and transport them to her lab at the Australian Museum, where even more samples - including green tree frogs, striped marsh frogs, and the invasive cane toad - await genetic testing in a freezer.

Puzzling Deaths

Yvonne Hulbert, who owns bed and breakfast on an estate on Macleay Island near Brisbane, a healthy frog population, provided one of those stories.

They've discovered browned and dead frogs in their homes in recent months.

"They start as a fawny beige and gradually become brown. Next, they appear to grow dry and malnourished, then shrink and become skeletons," Hulbert explained.

"We recognize the same frogs, and they gradually deteriorate in health and stature until their eyes get dull and they die. It's depressing."

Gail Wilson-Lutter has resided in Meerschaum Vale, NSW's northern rivers, for 36 years with her husband. Frogs would enter the kitchen via a hole in the ceiling every night.

"We have a frog-cuzzi, which is a small pool where frogs can swim, and we enjoy having them here because they eat spiders and pests."

Wilson-Lutter saw frogs losing loose skin in their little pool and others changing color or appearing dead in recent months.

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