An original drawing from “The Wind in the Willows” showing Mr. Toad escaping from prison – described as “literary history” – could sell for up to £20,000 (over $25,000) at auction.

Then in 1990, they were gone. The golden toad was the first species where climate change has been identified as a key driver of extinction. Its fate could be just the beginning.

The toad’s creator, Guo Yongyao, meant to invoke the traditional symbolism of the “wealth-drawing golden toad” (招财金蟾). But the toad invokes something else for Chinese netizens ...