BLOOMINGTON - By the time John Tobias focused his camera, the fire-bellied toad jumped away. Although it was doing what toads do, Tobias, superintendent of Miller Park Zoo, was determined to get his shot. | Photo gallery

He did, and he intends to enlarge the picture and hang it and other frog photos in a commons area of the rainforest exhibit at the zoo.

It's all intended to draw attention to the plight of amphibians in what is being called the Year of the Frog.

It's estimated that half of the world's 6,000 amphibian species are threatened by disease, pollution and climate change, according to Amphibian Ark, a U.S.-based effort to rescue species from extinction.

Tobias said the chytrid fungus is killing amphibians along with habitat loss and environmental change.

"Frogs are very sensitive to toxins and abnormalities in the environment. When they start dying off, almost always there's something wrong with the environment," said Lauren Brown, professor emeritus of vertebrate zoology at Illinois State University, Normal.

"It's sort of like a canary in a coal mine," Brown said.

Tobias likes that analogy and is among those who think people must be more careful about the environment.

"The frog is a little animal that is giving a big message," Tobias said, adding that the pictures he hopes to post at the zoo by early next month will help to call attention to the environment.

Some of the frogs he photographed Friday are from endangered species. One was the Panamanian golden frog, which can be found in the mountain rainforests of Panama.

Zookeeper Erik Heinonen helped position the rare frog so Tobias could photograph it.

It wasn't easy.

"They're not used to being handled," Heinonen said as the frog jumped off a leaf and onto his shoe.

Wearing gloves so he wouldn't spread germs to the frog, Heinonen set it back on the leaf and Tobias, who hunted frogs for their legs as a child, clicked way.

"We lived in Kansas on the edge of town near farmers' ponds," Tobias said, adding that the frog legs tasted "kind of like chicken."

While it was Tobias' turn to use the camera Friday, the public will get a shot from 8 to 10 a.m. April 26 in the zoo's rainforest display. Wildlife available for photography will include birds, monkeys and frogs.

Preregistration is required.

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Strike a pose

Frogs and toads photographed Friday by Miller Park Zoo included:

Panamanian golden frog: This critically endangered species can be found in mountain rain forests in Panama in Central America. It is small and bright yellow, often with dark blotches.

Golden mantella frog: This endangered variety comes from Madagascar. They are about an inch long and come in golden yellow (sometimes with red marks on the inner legs), orange, or ruby red.

Fire-bellied toad: This name applies to eight species found across much of Europe and Asia that reside in water or near shore. They range from 1.5 inches to almost 3 inches long. Their name derives from the brightly colored red or yellow and black patterns in the belly area. The coloring acts as a warning to predators.

Poison dart frog: They are so named because indigenous peoples in the tropics use their toxins to poison the tips of arrows and blow darts. They usually are about an inch long and brilliantly colored and patterned in yellow, gold, copper, red, green, blue, or black.

SOURCES: Miller Park Zoo; various zoo Web sites