Current at 11/6/2011 (Online waypoint URL) You have already found this cache! Master Index    Nearest Caches Croakin' Away by Flotsom and Jetsom (1.5/1.5) (Archived) N49° 52.114  W97° 14.430 (WGS84) UTM  14U   E 626438  N 5525502 Use waypoint: GC1B8VA Size: Regular    Hidden on 4/15/2008 In Manitoba, Canada Difficulty:     Terrain:                     A cache dedicated to disappearing Frogs. This cache is one of a series placed in collaboration with the Zoological Society of Manitoba as a part of the Endangered Species Cache Game. The Cache is in the Assiniboine Park Zoo. There is a nominal entrance fee. You can download the game sheet at www.mbgeocaching.ca or obtain one from the Zoo Shop NOTE: This Cache is Located Near Water. Please keep track of small children . Croakin’ Away The year of 2008 is the Year of the Frog. Accredited zoos and aquariums are working closely with other partners to develop and implement a global action plan for amphibian conservation. Zoos and aquariums are committed to ensuring the survival of all amphibian species and are already an active force in amphibian conservation. Now, with Year of the Frog, we need to take our efforts to the next level, not only by increasing our conservation efforts, but also by engaging the public to learn about and support the critical work to prevent amphibian extinction. Why ‘Year of the Frog’? Frogs are going extinct. So are toads, salamanders, newts and the intriguingly unusual caecilians. In fact, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) estimates that at least one-third of known amphibian species are threatened with extinction. While the major culprit has historically been habitat loss and degradation, many of the declines and extinctions are now being attributed to a rapidly dispersing infectious disease. This fungus is causing population and species extinctions at an alarming rate. Captive assurance populations have become the only hope for many species faced with imminent extinction and are an important component of an integrated conservation effort. Accredited zoos and aquariums, with their demonstrated expertise in endangered species breeding programs, have been called upon to meet this conservation challenge. The Blanchard's Cricket Frog is listed as endangered in Canada. The IUCN has classified four amphibians in the U.S. to be critically endangered, the Mississippi gopher frog, the Chiricahua leopard frog, the mountain yellow-legged frog and the Wyoming toad. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed thirty-seven amphibian species under the Endangered Species Act. Accredited zoos and aquariums may be their only hope for survival.

Additional Hints (There are no hints for this cache)

2/1/2009 by Kabuthunk
Wow, looks like this is one of the few caches in the Zoo which have been found since sometime after October (or November, anyway... someone's signed the actual logbooks for November, but doesn't appear to have logged them online). I almost ended up passing by this cache, but quickly realized the number of meters to the coordinates started going up .

After a fairly uneventful find at the nearby 'Losing Lemurs' cache, my figure-8 circuit took me to this one. Once I had figured out approximately where the coordinates were, I headed over and almost lost my footing on the nearby bridge. It seems the wood has gotten quite icy and slippery at this time of year. Mental note for others attempting this fella... watch your step.

Upon arriving at the coordinates, I noticed a distinct lack of croaking. It looks like the amphibian population seems to have something against sub-zero temperatures . Although that got me thinking... ARE the frogs hidden somewhere away in the Zoo during the winter? I didn't see any indoor-type structures anywhere nearby that they could go into through whatever tunnel when it got cold. Or do they just... hibernate (or whatever amphibians do during winter) until it warms up, or are they collected and taken indoors somewhere? In any case, it was definitely quiet in the area. Although, right across the path were... well, the sign indicated they were "American Bison". To say the least, they sure as hell didn't LOOK like bison. Maybe there's multiple things in that area, or they were perhaps young, non-mature bison. In retrospect, I should have taken a picture of them... oh well. One of them was even curled up RIGHT against the fence! If I was a whole helluva lot stupider, I would have gone up and tried to pet it through the fence.

But that just would have been stupid... and so I obviously decided against it .

But I digress. Lack of frogs, looking for the cache. I ended up climbing around various trees, thinking perhaps it could be hidden under the snow of a crook in the branches. When I first arrived, I had an inkling of where it could be, but abandoned it temporarily for the trees. I shouldn't have abandoned it clearly, because after the trees turned up nothing, I quickly located the cache in that 'inkling' spot . Albeit the cache was a little frozen in place, I was able to easily retrieve and open it. One signing later, and the cache was back in place. On the plus side, my various wanderings will definitely avoid a direct geo-trail. Not that it matters much, since soon thereafter it began snowing pretty hard, so I doubt even a single track of mine is still visible .

Thanks for getting me out to the Zoo however for some geocaching. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to look at the frogs hopping around, but at least I got to see... bison, or whatever those ungulates were on the other side of the fence .

Took: Nothing
Left: Logbook entry and chainmail ball