REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS
Frog Keeping
in New Zealand
by Joel Knight New Zealand has a number of native Leiopelmatidae frog species, which are among the most primitive amphibians in the world. There are very strict regulations for activities involving any native wildlife. This means that native NZ frogs cannot be kept by a public individual, unless they have obtained a high class category permit that authorises them to do so. These authorisations are typically granted for research and conservation programmes, such as Auckland Zoo’s recovery programme. This means that if you would like to keep frogs as pets in NZ you will need to keep introduced species, of which there are three. These frogs are native to Australia but are now widespread across 18 ∙ Aquarium World
Ranoidea aurea, golden bell frog Photo: Joel Knight
NZ. They include two species of bell frogs and a tree frog. Each of these species occur in different habitats, although there is overlap between species, where it is thought that hybridisation may occur. A number of other species were introduced to NZ, but have failed to establish in the cold temperate climate of NZ. The unsuccessful introductions included the common frog, the edible frog, the common toad and the White’s tree frog. Two more tree frog species were spotted to arrive on rigging by ship, but have not been seen since. Bell frogs however were successful and can be found across the country. They are
