Dangerous Creatures: Poison Arrow Frog

(Central and South America)

   Another brightly coloured amphibian [see next line] lives in the rainforest of Central America.
   You might expect to find frogs in bogs or ponds or swamps. But how about frogs in trees?
   Yes, of course frogs have ears! They just prefer to keep them out of sight.
   Who can tell the difference between poison arrow frogs and Mantellas? Even experts have trouble!
   Frogs, like the two pictured here for example, are very sophisticated creatures underwater.
   Frogs that look like ducks? Or maybe more like pieces of bark!
   Poison arrow frogs watch over their babies until they mature, and their own poisonous protection takes over.
   We can learn a lot from observing animals’ behaviour. Such as when things might be going very wrong environmentally.
   Tiny, pretty and deadly. Watch out for the tiny yellow frog and the blue-ringed octopus.
   Video: Poison arrow frogs live in the trees of the rainforest. When you’re a tiny frog, it’s a good defence to be poisonous.
   Advice: Don’t even think of touching a brilliantly coloured tree frog! It’s likely to be highly toxic. Just admire the bright colours from a distance. I always use binoculars myself. One can’t be too careful!

Next: If you’re a tiny frog, you’d better have a good defence against predators – like venom. You need some way of fighting back.