vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn  

LANG SON — Residents in the Mau Son mountain area in the northern province of Lang Son’s Loc Binh District have found a new job: raising ech huong (fragrant frogs). The frog’s name comes from local people’s belief they are more delicious than rice field frogs, with the added bonus of weighing up to 1kg each.

At local markets close to the Chinese border, the Dao ethnic minorities are finding the fragrant frogs to be a best-seller collecting as much as VND100,000 per kilogram. This is about a 400 per cent increase on previous prices, with restaurants in China paying up to VND180,000 for 1kg.

"Everyone is rushing to the mountain to hunt the frogs," Trieu Tien Son, a man in Khuoi Cap hamlet said.

A frog hunting frenzy has ensued as word got out about the new frog trade with people from three other hamlets flocking to Mau Son mountain.

Locals say the frogs live in clean streams where they collect their food by day and then gather in caves by night.

"With intense hunting the amphibian numbers are dropping drastically. With co-operation of scientific organisations, we will survey the Mau Son area, which stretches over 80 different mountains, to clearly define the origin of the frogs. This is the first step to preserve this precious species," deputy director of the province’s Farmer Assistance Centre, Nong Van Viet, said.

A project to preserve and expand frog numbers, initiated by the provincial Farmers’ Association, has been given US$5,000 by the Australian Embassy.

At present, 28 local Dao ethnic minority families have borrowed capital from the project to build tanks to breed the frogs. On average, breeders can harvest 10kg of frogs from a tank in three to four months.

They have built more than 20 tanks in which burrows, holes and rivulets help simulate the frog’s natural living environment. Local children also help by trapping flies and other insects to feed the frogs. — VNS