Part 3: Frogs at risk
- Part 1: Where they live and how they grow
- Part 2: Frog behavior and cultural significance to people
- Part 4: Meet frogs from around the world!
Frogs around the world are at risk. Many populations are declining and some species are faced with extinction.
Because frogs typically spend parts of their lives in different habitats and are sensitive to environmental changes, they are seen indicators of ecological health.
For example, frogs can be heavily affected by water pollution or the use of pesticides.
Rising levels of environmental damage is causing a global decline in frog populations.
Many frogs are endangered, or have gone extinct, due to the outbreak of a deadly fungal disease that has spread around the world since the 1970s.
The Panamanian golden toad for example is now extinct in the wild. It now only survives in captivity.
More than 100 species are known to have gone extinct since the 1980s due to chytridiomycosis, the devastating fungal disease.
More than one third of the world’s remaining species are considered endangered according to the IUCN Red List compiled by scientists.
This tree frog is being treated for disease by researchers in Panama. Frogs and other amphibians are declining worldwide.
Author and photographer: Rhett A. Butler
