A life of frogs

By Carolyn Enting

A life of frogs
In celebration of his latest exhibition, photographer Robin Moore shares tips on handling frogs with care.

Photographer Robin Moore has been fascinated by amphibians for as long as he can remember.

Growing up in Scotland, he spent most of his waking hours during the summer holidays wading through peat bogs in search of frogs and newts.

These soon became his portal to a wilder more mysterious world. “I was fascinated by the fact that they had rubbed ankles with the dinosaurs,” he tells. “Their large, bulbous eyes and smiling mouths were an invitation to pick them up and study them. The transformation from egg to tadpole to frog was nothing short of miraculous, and the fact that I could witness this in a tank in my bedroom helped to develop an intimate association with the amphibians.”

Moore is currently creative director of the Amphibian Survival Alliance which works to develop and support the protection of amphibians and their habitats around the world.

Over the years he has had to handle many frogs but his recommendation to others (advice he also follows), is to avoid handling them if possible and instead to capture them with your camera.

“They are fragile creatures and their skin is semi-permeable – imagine if your lungs were turned inside out and stretched across your skin – which means that they are prone to drying out or overheating. They really prefer not to be handled, so if you do so, make it brief and return the frog from where you found it.”

Grasping frogs gently around the waist can prevent them from injuring themselves as they try to jump free – they can have very powerful hind legs.

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