No surviving frog pests found - NZ Press Item

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: THE DOMINION (Wellington, New Zealand) 26 January 00 No surviving frog pests found : (NZPA): An Australian frog found in a west Auckland forest is unlikely to have become established, agricultural experts say. : The Eastern Banjo Frog is an aggressive Australian species that could threaten some native frogs but after the initial find of eggs, tadpoles and froglets, the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry said it had not found any more. : "We have no evidence there are any surviving ones at all," Hugh Davies, from the ministry's centre for disease investigation, said. "They are very difficult to find in the forest." : If there was any evidence the frogs were in the ranges later in the year when they were due to begin mating and calling, sound gear would be set up and search teams would go looking for the frogs, Dr Davies said. : The ministry also believed the Australian frog would find it hard to become established in the Waitakere Ranges because the environment was not ideal. : The Eastern Banjo Frog could grow to 65 millimetres and females could lay nearly 4000 eggs. It was known for its banjo-like noise heard in the spring and summer. : If big populations were found, the ministry would look at several options to eradicate them, including poison. :

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