Like many other species that are the largest members of an evolutionary group, goliath frogs have a very small range. They're found only in a few swift-moving rivers that wind through a fringe of dense rain forest in coastal sections of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea in western Africa. This habitat is rapidly disappearing as rain forests are cut down and converted to agricultural uses, dams are built across rivers, and wilderness is replaced by villages.

Goliath frogs are also victims of their own giant size. Private collectors and zoos have been avidly collecting them since the species was first identified in 1906. Goliath frogs are not currently protected by CITES, so there are almost no restrictions on trade in these animals. Cameroon allows 300 goliath frogs to be exported each year, but luckily they're not easy to find; even the best professional collectors rarely catch more than a few dozen per trip. Rare equals expensive: an adult goliath frog has sold for as much as $3,000 in America, although the collecting frenzy now seems to have abated in this country. A 1991 survey found goliath frogs in only two U.S. zoos.

Goliath frogs don't breed or survive well in captivity. The only real hope for their survival is the preservation of wild populations. One suggestion: well-managed local populations could be lightly harvested each year, so that export income could be earned without further endangering the species.