ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) – Dr. Ruth is bringing her sex-pertise to the Detroit Zoo.
Not to be confused with famed human sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Dr. Ruth Marcec is the new director of the zoo’s National Amphibian Conservation Center. She is tasked with inducing frogs and salamanders to make a love connection – something the little critters aren’t doing enough of these days.
Experts estimate that around half of the world’s 7,600 known species of amphibians is threatened.
“It’s very much a crisis,” said Marcec. “If you combine all the endangered mammals and birds, that still doesn’t add up to the percentage of amphibians that are threatened and endangered.”
Among her responsibilities, which include overseeing amphibian care and welfare as well as conservation and research programs, Marcec is tasked with encouraging the cold-blooded vertebrates in her care to get down.