Clorox partners with Animal Planet to introduce ‘The Vanishing Frog’.

As part of its ongoing support of the “Year of the Frog,” a global initiative to raise public awareness and funds to help avert the pending amphibian crisis, The Clorox Company has joined forces with Animal Planet to introduce a new multimedia project called THE VANISHING FROG.

From the forests of Puerto Rico to the jungles of Central America to the high Sierras of the American West, the world’s frogs are mysteriously vanishing. Experts believe that as many as one-third to one-half of the planet’s 5,743 known amphibian species are in danger of disappearing — victims of the most significant mass extinction since the dinosaurs. THE VANISHING FROG sends wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin on an international mission to uncover clues about the frogs’ deadly plight. The documentary premieres Thursday, November 20 at 8 PM (ET/PT) on Animal Planet.

“Frogs are incredibly amazing creatures with a variety of astonishing skills and innate abilities,” says Corwin. “Frogs have been with us since before the dinosaurs; they are a critical part of the ecosystem and now they are disappearing. They have the uncanny ability to adapt to almost any environment, which has enabled them to colonize every piece of land in the world except Antarctica and Iceland, but now face their greatest challenge.”

While habitat destruction is a leading cause of extinction, the deadly fungus known as chytrid is currently unstoppable and untreatable in the wild, where it can kill 80 percent of the native amphibians within months. Currently, the only way to save frogs from the chytrid fungus is to rescue them from the wild and take them into protective custody. Frogs that are rescued are treated with anti-fungal chemicals to combat the chytrid. Anything else that has contacted water during the rescue — from boots and clothing to instruments and transport containers — is treated with a bleach solution to help control the spread of fungus to new, uncontaminated areas.

As part of its involvement with the amphibian conservation efforts, The Clorox Company, whose namesake bleach is used in the field everyday in the battle to save the frogs, became the first corporate sponsor of the “Year of the Frog” and signed on to THE VANISHING FROG project while it was still in development. Clorox also is donating supplies of Clorox® Regular-Bleach to conservation efforts and providing funding to complete the construction of a visitors and education center at the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center in Panama, a project designed to help save amphibians that are disappearing in the wild.

“Through the dedication of so many, dozens of amphibian species could be saved from immediate extinction,” says Benno Dorer, Clorox, vice president and general manager, Cleaning Division. “We are honored to be able to help.”

Conservation biologists refer to amphibians as “the canaries in the coal mine” — they are among the first species to be affected by environmental stressors, so when they show declines in the wild, it serves as a warning to other species, including humans. Amphibians — frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and caecilians — are vital members of a delicate ecosystem as well as important environmental indicators and contributors to human health and wellness.

For more information about what can be done to help eradicate the amphibian extinction crisis, visit http://www.savethefrog.com.