Leap in to katch a great gig at the Zoo

Leap in to katch a great gig at the Zoo

Katchafire, one of New Zealand’s leading reggae bands, returns to Wild Bean Cafe ZooMusic on Friday, 29 February, to support native frog conservation.

The seven-piece band will play their third ZooMusic, and are expected to attract a sell-out crowd for this last gig in the 2008 series of concerts for conservation.

Since forming in 1997, Hamilton-based Katchafire has enjoyed immense success, which continues with their latest album Say What You’re Thinking (2007). The band’s original pop-reggae tunes, and their passion for live performance, have won them many fans.

Appropriately, Katchafire’s “leap day” gig will be helping to support native frogs during the International Year of the Frog - a year of awareness-raising and action to fight the global amphibian crisis.

With three native frog species already extinct, Auckland Zoo hopes to raise awareness and funds for the remaining four, including the world’s most evolutionarily distinct and critically endangered species – the Archey’s frog.

Over one- third of world’s 6300 known amphibians are currently threatened with extinction. By thinking locally, New Zealanders can help to act globally. Frogs around the world act as an environmental indicator and issues such as pollution, introduced pests and loss of habitat, have all contributed to the decline in numbers.

“It is absolutely wonderful that native frog recovery is being supported by the ZooMusic series,” says Department of Conservation Native Frog Recovery Group leader, Amanda Haigh. “The funds raised will assist with surveying native frog populations for amphibian chytrid fungus, a disease that is deadly to so many frog species worldwide”.

Seven-piece reggae band House of Shem will take to the zoo’s band rotunda stage to open the evening (6pm to 7pm) before Katchafire performs at 7.30pm.

Your ZooMusic ticket is also your entry to the zoo – so come early to explore the zoo and see your favourite animals. Please be aware the band rotunda area will closed off in the afternoon to enable safe equipment set-up.

Tickets are available from Auckland Zoo and Ticketmaster.

Wild Bean Cafe ZooMusic Concerts for Conservation series 2008, in association with Juice TV, The Radio Network, Monkey Bay wines, MusicWorks, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, and Vidcom.

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Notes to the editor:
Event Details

Wild Bean Cafe ZooMusic 2008 Concerts for Conservation: Katchafire, Friday 6pm to 9pm, 29 February, supporting native frog recovery.

Tickets available from Auckland Zoo www.aucklandzoo.conz 09 360 3805, or Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.co.nz 09 970 9700. Service fee applies.

Limited capacity venue. Tickets expected to sell fast – advance booking recommended Prices: adults $27, children from four to 15years) $12 and family pass for two adults and two children $70.

Visit www.millenniumhotels.co.nz for accommodation options in Auckland.

Friends of the Zoo receive a 20 per cent discount

Visit www.aucklandzoo.co.nz for picnic hampers and VIP enclosure details.

ZooMusic is a licensed event and no BYO is permitted.

Department of Conservation Native Frog Recovery
The Department of Conservation has a Native Frog Recovery Group (of which Auckland Zoo is a member) that coordinates management and research into native frogs to help with their conservation.

Major threats to native frogs
The major threats facing native frogs include habitat change and destruction, introduced pests, infectious disease and pollution and chemical contamination

Native Frogs
New Zealand has four endemic frog species. Hochstetter’s frog is the most widespread, found in several locations on the upper North Island. Hamilton’s frog is one of the world’s rarest frog species, found only on Stephens Island in the Cook Strait. Maud Island in the Marlborough Sounds is home to the Maud Island frog and Archey’s frog, our smallest native species, is currently found in only two locations on the North Island – the Coromandel Peninsula and in the Whareorino Forest in King Country.

New Zealand frogs have a number of features that make them unusual, including the fact that they do not croak like most other frogs and do not have a tadpole stage, but hatch from the egg as a fully formed tiny frog. Like frogs around the world, all four of our frog species are threatened with extinction; they have had to contend with large-scale habitat change and introduced pests and, more recently, Chytrid fungus has affected our frog populations. For more information visit wwwnzfrogs.org

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