The distinctive squelching call of the northern corroboree frog, or gyak as it's known in the local Walgalu language, has special meaning for First Nations people in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales.
Walgalu Wiradjuri man and Heritage NSW officer, Shane Herrington, said senior men would call out to gyak as people moved through the mountains.
"If gyak didn't respond, permission wasn't granted for our people to move onto the next part of country," he said.
"Gyak is also a bringer of rain. When we hear the thunder, we see the lightning and cracks, that's the thunder and lightning calling out to gyak to call back, to give permission for the rain to fall."
Indigenous elders, frog experts from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (NSW DPE) and Taronga Zoo, and the Bangarra Dance Theatre are working together to ensure this cultural knowledge lives on.
Together they created a program for 12 students from the Brungle Public School that involves developing a dance to tell the ancient stories of gyak but also the modern conservation efforts to save the frog.
Wiradjuri elder Aunty Sue Bulger said it was important for the local Indigenous community to reclaim its heritage.
"Remember that story so it won't be forgotten and the children that are performing it here today will tell their children and teach their children this dance," she said.
Conservation and community
Taronga Zoo's Burbangana program coordinator Suzanna Boyd said it was important to have Aboriginal people involved in conservation given their close connection with the land.
"It's [a] system that's been in place for so long ... done with the right intention around your relationship with country, and relationship with animals and species," Ms Boyd said.
"You've got stories that have been passed down for tens of thousands of years, I can't even really put into words, what kind of impact that can have."
Wiradjuri woman Amy Flannery, who is part of Bangarra, said inspiration came from the children.
"We did a workshop with the kids and we got them to help us create the movement," she said
"Dance is so a part of culture and community, we [wanted] to include their input to empower them to create."
Brungle Public School student Skye Burns said it had been fun to have elders spend time at the school sharing their knowledge and taking part in the dancing lessons.
"They [elders] are part of culture," she said.
"It's actually really pretty for a little frog, it's one of the prettiest I've ever seen.
"They don't have the strength to jump like other frogs so they have to crawl to get away from predators as fast as they can."
Frog won't survive without our help
Senior threatened species officer with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Dr David Hunter, said recent surveys indicate there were only hundreds of the northern corroboree frog left in the wild.
"We've been monitoring the northern corroboree frog for about 30 years now and the trend is clear that this frog is in an ongoing state of decline towards extinction and really will rely on our help to prevent complete loss," he said.
The key threat to the frog is the deadly amphibian chytrid fungus but key breeding sites were also burnt in the 2020 summer bushfires.
"It modified the habitat such that many of the breeding sites for the northern corroboree frog are no longer suitable," Dr Hunter said.
To maintain the genetic diversity of the frog's population, eggs are collected for a captive breeding program at zoos including Taronga.
"Then we can look forward to ways we can both reintroduce corroboree frogs back into the wild … but also looking at ways we can assist this frog to ultimately developing a resistance to the chytrid fungus," Dr Hunter said.
Wiradjuri man Rodney Penrith has been working with Dr Hunter for the past four years collecting corroboree frog eggs.
His granddaughter Katara Dempsey-Penrith attends the Brungle Public School and seeing her perform the corroboree frog dance brought tears to his eyes.
"I'm just so proud," he said.
"Doing the dance and learning about her culture and about the frogs … gives you a tingle, just thinking about it, just watching."
