Projects

Reptile / Lurch of the Year

In 2006 the DGHT announced the "reptile of the year" for the first time with the forest lizard, in order to draw attention to the endangered herpetofauna in Germany and to sensitize the general public for its protection. In 2007 and 2008 the garlic toad and the tree frog were the first two "amphibians of the year". Since then, in a mostly changing sequence, a certain representative of the native amphibian or reptile fauna has become the focus of the public as "species of the year": 2009 the dice snake, 2010 the pond newt, 2011 the common lizard, 2012 the common toad, 2013 the snake snake, 2014 the yellow-bellied toad, the European pond turtle in 2015, the fire salamander in 2016, the slow worm in 2017, the common frog in 2018 and the newt in 2019.
The campaign, supported by the DGHT and its AG Field Herpetology and Species Conservation, has meanwhile developed into a well-known campaign that takes place in close cooperation with the long-standing cooperation partners, the Austrian Society for Herpetology (ÖGH), the coordination center for amphibian and reptile protection in the Switzerland (info fauna karch), the National Museum of Natural History Luxembourg (MNHN) and the Federal Expert Committee for Field Herpetology / Ichthyofaunistics of the German Nature Conservation Association (NABU). In addition to an extensive campaign brochure with detailed information, a leaflet (flyer), a color poster and, more recently, a children's brochure, the central elements usually also include an international conference on the chosen species. The "Reptile / Amphib of the Year" is held in November of the previous year at the annual meeting of the AG Feldherpetologie und Artenschutz. Sponsors such as Nuremberg Zoo, Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna or Wilhelma Stuttgart also support the campaign.