THE WALLUM FROGLET

Before there was Habitat, with a capital H, there was just good old natural habitat.

And on a little patch of swampy forest, adjacent to Habitat with a capital H, there was a special piece of natural habitat that was home to the Wallum Froglet, a threatened species only found in northern NSW and south-east Queensland.

The problem was this good old-fashioned bit of habitat wasn’t as good as it could be, so in planning Habitat with a capital H, it was decided we’d renovate the Wallum Froglet’s natural habitat at the same time.

To learn more about this important bit of conservation, we chatted with one of the Wallum Froglets…

Habitat: Sorry we haven’t got in touch earlier.

Wallum: No worries. We’re all introverts by nature, so we haven’t minded being left alone.

How have you been?

Good, good. Well, you know, I can’t speak for all Wallum Froglets, but we’ve got it pretty sweet round here. Thanks to you guys, our little bit of swampy paradise has been getting upgraded with more plants, which is nice this time of year.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Ok. I’m an amphibian. My given name is Crinia tinnula, but most people call me a Wallum Froglet, because we mostly live in the Wallum swampland.

Where’s Wallum? Never heard of it?

It’s not a town, you nincompoop. Wallum is a type of Australian ecosystem – a flora-rich shrubland which is only found along the coast in south-east Queensland and northern NSW. We love it and wouldn’t live anywhere else.

Gotcha. Is that part of the reason why you’ve become a threatened species?

Hmmm, never given it much thought. You could be onto something though.

That makes your home to the west of Habitat pretty special then?

Yep. While other Wallum Froglets are coming under increasing pressure from urbanisation, we’re safe knowing this place is being preserved.

When people think of frogs, they tend to imagine green ones like Kermit. Considering you only come in grey, brown and black, does that irritate you?

A little, sure. We’re not known for our thick skin, not like those bloody cane toads, so it stings a bit. We’re always telling our tadpoles not to judge any frog by the colour of its skin. Feels like a lesson you could learn too.

Any last words before we go?

Actually, I fancy myself as a bit of a singer, so I’d encourage people to come listen. We only sing after heavy rain, so we haven’t been making much noise lately. Next time it buckets down though, we’ll put on a performance.

We look forward to it. Thanks for your time Wallum.

Photo: Daniel O'Brien