Costa Rica’s golden toad has gone extinct because its natural habitat has dried up, sending a warning that freshwater species and habitats around the world are in serious trouble, according to the World Wildlife Fund’s new 1999 Living Planet Report. It found that climate change, pollution, and heavy fishing threaten frogs, alligators, flamingos, and river dolphins, among other species. The report also determined that since 1970, the world has lost 10 percent of its natural forests, equivalent to 150,000 square kilometers a year, an area larger than Greece. Only half the world’s original forest cover now remains. And WWF estimates that between 1970 and 1995, the world lost about 30 percent of its natural wealth.
