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Did you know the last known golden toad was seen in 1989?
Once a prevalent creature in the high-altitude ridges of Costa Rica, the golden toad witnessed an incredibly rapid extinction. It's named after its radiant orange skin, which made it a unique and admired amphibian in the animal kingdom. From the early 20th century, sightings of golden toads were regular each year around the rainy season. However, by the late 1980s, their numbers mysteriously started to dwindle. During a field study in 1987, researchers accounted for more than 1500 golden toads. Alarmingly, just two years later in 1989, only a single male toad could be located. After intensive and exhaustive search efforts, no other golden toads were found, marking it an extinct species. The last known sighting was of a single male in 1989, in the Costa Rican cloud forest reserve, Monteverde. Till this day, the golden toad is remembered as a symbol of lost biodiversity. Its demise has served as a grim reminder of species' vulnerability and importance of biodiversity conservation.

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