A deadly amphibian disease is threatening frog species worldwide.

In simple terms, the disease was spread by importing frogs from Africa and then releasing them into the wild.

This disease is Chytridiomycosis, caused by a pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, and has been called “the worst disease in vertebrate history” by one of the scientists studying it, Dr. Vance Vredenburg. Read all the details about the disease here, or a summary here.

In honor of frogs all over the world, here is a scratchboard drawing I worked on in collaboration with my mother, artist Barbara Dahn many years ago. She designed the drawing, and I rendered it in scratchboard. At the time, we were trying to raise awareness of frogs’ mysterious decline worldwide.

It seems frog decline is not so mysterious anymore. Hopefully, it isn’t too late.