Protecting The Planet Thanks To The Power Of Postcodes

Support from Postcode Lottery players is helping conservationists become nature’s paramedics, stepping in to protect and save endangered species.

Teams at the ZSL (Zoological Society of London) say funding raised by our players has helped them protect the rare Darwin’s frog in the rainforests of Southern Chile and save the tiny Partula tree snail from an invasive species in French Polynesia.

The threat to the Darwin’s frog was detected when scientists at ZSL discovered a deadly disease for amphibians had spread into their natural habitat and was devastating the population of the rare 4cm frogs that weigh less than a 1p coin.

Evelyn Len, ZSL’s Head of Institutional Fundraising and Individual Giving, explained: "When an emergency developed, our scientists needed to carry out an urgent rescue mission.

"The chytrid fungus had reached parts of the Chilean rainforest that is home to this rare and unusual frog. Within a year, there was a 90 per cent decline in the population, so our scientists knew they had to act quickly.

"Funding from Postcode Lottery players gave us the ability to do that."

Scientists from the conservation charity travelled 7,000 miles to southern Chile’s rainforests in a race to save the Darwin’s Frogs - discovered by legendary biologist Charles Darwin - from extinction.

They collected 53 of the tiny amphibians that tested free of the disease and brought them back to a purpose-built bio-secure habitat in London Zoo, where the healthy frogs are successfully breeding.

They will remain at London Zoo until future generations can safely be returned to their natural habitat.

Evelyn continued: "The rescue of the Darwin’s frogs shows how support from Postcode Lottery players has allowed us to prioritise the most urgent work and react at pace - to be responsive and unhindered.

"But conservation is rarely a speedy game.

"So, as well as allowing us to act quickly when needed, funding from players of Postcode Lottery helps us carry out vital long-term conservation work - including protecting Partula snails."

Dave Clarke, a zookeeper at London Zoo, first travelled to French Polynesia in 1991 to collect nine of the last known survivors of one species of the tiny Partula tree snail on the brink of extinction after coming under attack from an invasive species.

Since then, Dave and colleagues at London Zoo have worked tirelessly as part of an international effort led by ZSL to not only carefully breed many species of threatened Partula snails but return them to the wild.

And to their joy, they are now seeing proof that the reintroduction is beginning to succeed, with over 30,000 precious Partula returned to their native homeland so far, and one species downlisted from Extinct in the Wild to Critically Endangered.

Dave Clarke said: "When we started this project all those years ago, we weren’t sure if it was going to work.

"Now we have the first evidence of this species breeding in the wild since the 1990s when they became extinct."

This work has been made possible with the support of Postcode Lottery players, who to date have raised more than £7 Million for ZSL.