Toughie was the last of the Rabbs’ fringe-limbed tree frogs and had lived out his life alone since his rescue in 2005 under the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s care. Image Atlanta Botanical Garden
Toughie, the famed last Rabbs’ fringe-limbed tree frog has passed on to be with his now extinct species in the “afterlife.”
Regarded as the last known member of his species, Toughie was described as “handsome,” presumably according to tree frog standards, and had won the hearts of movie directors as well as race car drivers, reports The Huffington Post.
The lone frog was discovered dead on Sept. 26 inside his home at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, where he had resided since he was picked up back in 2005.
Our planet is gifted with a large diversity of living creatures, so diverse that many go extinct, whether by natural or human-related factors, without ever being catalogued or studied. Toughie had been a representative of a species that was entirely new to science. Unfortunately his kind was wiped out by the spread of an invasive fungus linked to climate change.
The extinction of 30 more frog species has been attributed to this particular fungus which left its mark in central Panama where the Rabbs’ fringe-limbed tree frog had dwelled. A group of researchers had been conducting an expedition to collect live animals before the fungus completely took hold of the whole area.
When Toughie was rescued, he was brought to the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s climate-controlled facility called the “frogPOD” where he spent the rest of his days until his recent demise. He was estimated to be 12 years old.
Scientists have been trying to raise awareness about the world’s impending sixth mass extinction and Toughie was made as one of their brand ambassadors.
With the rate that things are going, more species may be heading out the exit and the human race may not be the wiser for all of it. Alfred Bayle
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