I want to thank my friend, Joe, from Alabama for bringing this story to my attention. As he pointed out, it only figures that the story comes out of the United Kingdom. Don’t expect to see this in the MainStreamMedia of the United States.
Legless frogs mystery solved is the title and it starts like this:
Scientists think they have resolved one of the most controversial environmental issues of the past decade: the curious case of the missing frogs’ legs.
For those who may not be familiar with the big frog crisis, here’s a quick recap.
Excerpt:
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, researchers started getting reports of numerous wild frogs or toads being found with extra legs or arms, or with limbs that were partly formed or missing completely.
The cause of these deformities soon became a hotly contested issue.
Some researchers believed they might be caused naturally, by predators or parasites.
Others thought that was highly unlikely, fearing that chemical pollution, or UV-B radiation caused by the thinning of the ozone layer, was triggering the deformations.
“Deformed frogs became one of the most contentious environmental issues of all time, with the parasite researchers on one side, and the ‘chemical company’ as I call them, on the other,” says Stanley Sessions, an amphibian specialist and professor of biology at Hartwick College, in Oneonta, New York.
It’s kind of funny how one “environmental crisis” begins to look like every other and the case of the deformed frogs was no different.
Excerpt:
“There was a veritable media firestorm, with millions of dollars of grant money at stake.”
When I use the word “funny” above I mean as in funny-weird not funny-haha because, where the rubber meets the road, there is nothing humorous about these situations.
Grant money is not all that’s at stake in these scenarios.
Invariably, more government regulation soon follows as does the Unintended Consequences of lost jobs, inflated prices and loss of personal freedoms that always accompany greater government control.
There is something else about this story that makes it look like every other “environmental crisis”.
The environmentalists were wrong!
Excerpt:
However, tests on frogs and toads have revealed a more natural, benign cause.
The deformed frogs are actually victims of the predatory habits of dragonfly nymphs, which eat the legs of tadpoles.
Imagine that!
There are several lessons that can be learned through this story and the first is that crisis-mongering is generally not about a “crisis”. If in doubt, follow the money – or the power grab – or both.
Second, despite all claims to the contrary, man is generally not so all-important on this planet that everything taking place here is about us.
Chances are pretty good that we’ll probably kill ourselves off long before we have any lasting effect upon the planet. If you want an example of a critter with staying power, look no further than the cockroach. Man can only wish for that kind of impact and survivability.
Third, nature is not all butterflies and flowers and golden sunsets. The natural order of things can be downright ugly at times. Nature is not compassionate. Nature is not fair. Nature is not accepting of or nurturing to the weak, the meek or the downtrodden – it simply is.
When you see something in nature that assaults your sensibilities and/or makes your skin crawl, it is probably business as usual.
That’s life in the wild.
Finally, nothing is truly incongruous. If the answers you find do not seem to make sense, chances are good that you’re asking the wrong questions…
