Safety Zone for Oriental Fire-bellied Toads Created in Pyeongtaek

A safety zone for Oriental fire-bellied toads in urban areas will be created in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

Pyeongtaek City announced on the 30th that "it plans to create an Oriental fire-bellied toad ecological habitat called 'Kkong-nara' (tentative name) with an area of 140㎡ in Deokdongsan Park in Bijeondong by the 9th of next month."

The safety zone for Oriental fire-bellied toads will feature an ecological pond with natural stone revetments and water supply equipment, as well as aquatic plants such as Typha, water chestnut, and Smilax china.

Additionally, fences and informational signs for observing the toads will be installed, allowing the space to serve as an ecological learning area for students.

The city plans to install informational signs prohibiting loud noise and pet dog access within a 10-meter radius to ensure safe breeding and ecological environment for the toads, appealing to citizens to protect them.

Once construction is completed, the city plans to move approximately 50 Oriental fire-bellied toads from a temporary protective habitat to this location in cooperation with environmental organizations.

During the installation of an artificial waterfall in Deokdongsan Park last July, approximately 1,000 Oriental fire-bellied toad tadpoles were discovered at the tadpole stage. This marked the first discovery in two years since the toads disappeared from Pyeongtaek in 2007.

At the time, environmental organizations created a temporary habitat by digging a small puddle near the construction site and relocated the tadpoles there. However, in late September that year, approximately 200 tadpoles died en masse. The tadpoles could not endure the sudden cold that arrived and froze to death.

Since then, the toad population has continued to decline due to reasons such as the puddle drying up, and currently only approximately 50 individuals are known to survive.

The city anticipates that the toad population will increase by 2 to 3 times once the ecological habitat is created.

Pyeongtaek Mayor Kim Seon-gi stated, "The Oriental fire-bellied toad, designated as Endangered Species Class 2, holds great significance simply by having a habitat," and added, "We will manage the ecological habitat to secure population numbers while also creating second and third ecological habitats."