The Vanishing Frog

From an Animal Planet press release.

Animal Planet and Clorox have joined forces to focus worldwide attention on the deadly fungus that is destroying frogs and other amphibian populations around the world through a new multimedia project called The Vanishing Frog. The film, produced by Discovery Studios, sends Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin on a worldwide mission to uncover clues to the frog's deadly plight while also unifying viewers with a common cause of environmental and wildlife protection. The Vanishing Frog is slated to premiere on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 8 PM e/p.

A Dire Situation

From the rocky streams of coastal Australia to the jungles of South America, and even to the American West, the world's frogs are mysteriously vanishing at alarming rates. Frogs and their relatives have thrived on earth for more than 360 million years, but now they're under serious threat. Experts believe that as many as one-third to one-half of the planet's 6,000 amphibian species are in danger of disappearing — victims of one of the most significant mass extinctions since the dinosaurs. Why are amphibians in such dire straits? And can we take action to save them? Jeff Corwin, who has experienced the most mammoth of mammals, reptiles and marine life worldwide, will take on these questions in the documentary The Vanishing Frog.

Jeff Corwin's Passion

"Frogs are incredibly amazing creatures with a variety of astonishing skills and innate abilities," commented Corwin. "The plight of the small amphibians is — unfortunately — quite large. Frogs have been with us since the dinosaurs; they are a critical part of the ecosystem and now they are disappearing."

"Jeff is so passionate about raising awareness for this crisis and has such a deep knowledge of the issues affecting these fascinating creatures that he is the perfect person to take us on this journey of discovery," noted Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet. "We're thrilled that our partner Clorox has been an ardent advocate for the amphibian crisis and is taking that commitment even further by partnering with us to produce The Vanishing Frog documentary project."

Clorox, whose namesake bleach is used in the field everyday in the battle to save the frogs, last fall became the first corporate sponsor of the Amphibian Ark's "Year of the Frog" initiative and signed on to The Vanishing Frog project while it was still in development.