A UC Berkeley researcher quoted in the U.S. News and World Report warns that the frogs in your backyard — if any — may be on their way out.
If you happen to see a frog hopping around in your back yard, take a good look— it might not be around for much longer. Ecologists are increasingly warning that due to habitat destruction, widespread infectious disease and climate change, amphibians are facing "extinction in real time."
As many as 40 percent of amphibious species, which include frogs, salamanders and newts, could be facing "imminent extinction," according to David Wake, a researcher at the University of California Berkeley.
"It's happening around the world … we're seeing it on our watch," he says. "People talk more about birds or mammals because they are charismatic, they're in the public eye. I'm concerned about rhinos and tigers, too, but in the meantime, we're losing the things that are in our backyard."
Not sure this is true for Ventura County, SoCal: Will find out this week. Could be a story! Here's a picture of one of two species of frog in this area which are "listed" as a threatened or endangered species, the CA red-legged frog, courtesy of environmental consultant David Magney.
Kit Stolz 