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FACTOID!!
Bees communicate by making special dance movements. When a new source of pollen has been found, a bee will spread the good news by doing a special dance. For instance, if a bee dances in a circular motion then it means that food can be found nearby.


Protecting the frogs to save the forests


Protecting the frogs to save the forests
Bob Murphy, a Toronto herpetologist, believes that by protecting the frogs you can help protect the rainforests, and by protecting the rainforests you can protect the new pharmaceutical drugs that are coming out of the rainforests. Dr Murphy has recently added a Mandarin rat snake, 6 Asian tree frogs, 4 bird-dropping frogs and 22 fire-bellied toads to the collection of the Metro Toronto Zoo from a recent trip to North Vietnam. His idea is to try to breed some of the frogs in captivity to try and establish new populations of them. Since 1994, Dr Murphy has collected 275 amphibians and reptiles, and about 150 different species of frogs from around the world. 63 of the frog species had been unknown until he discovered them. On his latest trip, scientists collected 88 species of reptiles and amphibians, of which 16 were previously undescribed. One of these species is the Asian tree frog which is notable in that it has a different breeding pattern from other frogs of the same species.
12 JULY 1999
The Globe and Mail
12 JULY 1999

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