In many parts of the world, including New England, frogs are in trouble. They have declined, suffered crippling deformities, and abruptly vanished from national parks and other preserves without warning and for no apparent reason. For several months now, I've been traveling around doing research for a report on the frog troubles in the hope that gathering the available evidence might yield new clues. Of course, many animals are in trouble around the world. The chronicle of loss grows longer day by day.
Rhinos fall to poachers.
Orangutans suffer eviction at the hands of logging companies. And Massachusetts's own sacred cod crashes from overfishing on Georges Bank. At first glance, the reports of disappearing and deformed frogs sound like just another version of those old biodiversity blues, a theme I've visited all too frequently in my career as an environmental journalist. But in significant respects, the frog crisis stands apart from classic endangered species concerns and the broader biodiversity crisis. It seems to signal a worrisome new chapter in the chronicle of loss.