Sixty five million years after surviving the last great extinction, amphibians continue to live in extreme locations, from deserts to high mountain slopes, a testament to their resiliency and adaptability. Despite thriving for millions of years under a wide range of conditions, the end of the twentieth century saw an alarming rate of amphibian decline: 9 out of 34 known extinctions occurred in the past twenty years alone. In 2006, the Global Amphibian Assessment found that more than 40 percent of the world’s 6000 labeled amphibian species have experienced recent declines and nearly a third are threatened with extinction. According to Amphibian Ark Program Officer Kevin Zippel, “the world hasn’t seen an extinction crisis like this since the dinosaurs died out.” In this climate of crisis, 2008 was named the Year of the Frog by the Amphibian Ark to raise awareness and promote action.
