(Photo from USAID Philippines)
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Philippines has commended biologists Kier Mitchel Pitogo and Aljohn Jay Saavedra for rediscovering a rare frog that was last seen almost three decades ago.
The brightly colored Guttman’s stream frogs were believed to be extinct until they were rediscovered living in the forest of Mount Busa. They were first seen in the wild in 1993.
“USAID supports Filipino scientists who are making discoveries in Philippine biodiversity,” the agency said in a statement posted on Facebook March 12.
“Deep in the forests of Busa mountain range in southern Mindanao, Kier Mitchel Pitogo and Aljohn Jay Saavedra rediscovered Guttman’s stream frog an amphibian so rare, it was thought to be extinct for decades since it was first recorded,” it reported..