Amphibian Collapse

One third of amphibians globally are threatened with extinction. Sue Broom investigates the mysterious disease that's killing frogs, newts and salamanders across the world.

In the last 20 years frogs, newts and salamanders the world over have been dying from a mysterious disease . Scientists believe they know what’s responsible, a waterborne fungus called chytrid. But why has it started to kill frogs only recently and what is it about amphibians that makes them so susceptible?

Sue Broom travels to Sardinia to meet the team of scientists who are part of a global effort to tackle the mass extinction. They are monitoring the local species of Sardinian Brook Newt and the Sardinian Painted Frog. Are they now threatened with extinction? And what does this means for species world wide? Sue Broom investigates one of the biggest animal extinctions in human memory.