IUCN declares desert rain frog vulnerable to extinction

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the unique amphibian as threatened, warning that its population could decline by 20% in the next decade.

• The IUCN Red List classified the desert rain frog (Breviceps macrops) as vulnerable, making it officially threatened with extinction.
• The IUCN warned that diamond mining and the Boegoebaai port and rail project could affect up to two-thirds of the frog's habitat in Namibia.
• Social media videos of the frog's squeak have driven a surge in online searches for obtaining the frog as a pet, said Dr Jeanne Tarrant of Anura Africa.
• The frog, which lives only in a narrow coastal strip of South Africa and Namibia, burrows into sand dunes and cannot be found anywhere else, experts stated.