Life
They Were Protected. It Didn't Matter.
This Short looks at three animals that disappeared even though they lived on protected land. A Costa Rican toad, an Australian frog and a Christmas Island bat all vanished despite their habitat being safe from bulldozers. The point is that legal protection can stop land clearing but not disease, drought or invasive species.
The numbers
- About 1,500 golden toads were seen in Monteverde in 1987; two years later only one.
- The northern gastric-brooding frog was found in 1984 and last recorded in 1985.
- The Christmas Island pipistrelle's last call was heard in August 2009.
- That bat was declared extinct in 2017.
Sources cited in the video: Wikipedia · Invasives Australia · Columbia Climate School · DCCEEW · Rainforest Trust
