Hundreds of species face extinction unless scientists' amphibian arks can save them

A colony of reptiles from Europe has set up home in a corner of north London. They're not the only exotic species to have moved in

Rare frogs airlifted from a Caribbean island to save them from a rapidly spreading fatal disease have bred for the first time at London Zoo.

This year's bad weather has proved “almost apocalyptic” for much of the UK's wildlife, the National Trust warned today.

A couple had a surprise when they found a tree frog nestling in some asparagus tips they bought in a supermarket.

Many of the world's amphibians are likely to go extinct faster than expected because of a combination of environmental threats working in unison, a study has found.

Many of the world's amphibians, which include frogs, toads, newts and salamanders, could die out faster than expected this century, a study has found.

Scientists scouring the mountains of Borneo have found a toad species last seen in 1924 by European explorers and thought to be extinct.

Radio 4 is to broadcast a sequel to the children's classic The Wind in the Willows. A Change in the Willows, by Ian Buchan, will star Stephen Mangan as Toad, Andrew Sachs as Badger, Tim McInnerny as Toad and Julian Rhind-Tutt as Ratty.

A rare species of toad in the French Pyrenees is the latest variety of amphibian to be threatened by a deadly fungal infection that scientists have so far been unable to cure.

Migrating toads will force thousands of Freiburg fans to find a different way home when they leave their stadium after Saturday's Bundesliga game against VfL Wolfsburg.

When the young theatre director Cressida Brown suggested I write a play that responded to her research into the careers of Olympic swimmers, my impulse was to pass. I'm a lifelong sport-phobe – the Olympics wash in and out my awareness, I can't string two words together about football, and nod off over cricket. Yet as I watched her with Olympian swimmers, retired and otherwise – Cassie Patten, Adrian Turner, Georgina Lee, Mike Fibbens and Mel Marshall – I found their stories compelling.

Beetles are quite fascinating members of the insect world. There are more than 350,000 different types of beetle, more than any other species on the planet, and they are crucial to the life cycle of their natural habitats. They may be small, but they have a huge impact on life on earth.

It makes wolves howl, toads frisky and cats crazy. The full moon also gets the blame for all manner of human bad behaviour. But are these just old wives' tales – or is there a rational explanation? By Roger Dobson