Animals
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Tree and Arrow Poison Frogs
Tree frogs have specially developed suckers on their feet. These let them cling to leaves and to the sides of trees. Tree frogs often stay hidden among leaves, waiting for insects or other small animals. Visitors staying in the jungle, particularly in a tree-top lodge such as Ariau Towers, will occasionally find that a small tree frog has accidentally hopped into their room. The frog is completely harmless, and shouldn't be hurt. If you're nervous about sharing accommodations with a frog, it can usually be easily coerced into hopping back outside where it belongs.
Arrow poison frogs are very small, measuring only 2 to 4cm long. They get their name because the South American Indians kill them and use them to extract powerful poison which they use to coat the tips of their arrows and blow darts. This poison is the most powerful animal venom produced by nature – just one ten-thousandth of a gram is enough to kill a person. Indians kill the frog by poking a sharp stick through it, and then heat it over a fire so that the poison forms tiny droplets over the frog's skin. These droplets are collected in a small pot, and are used to smear the tips of the Indians' arrows. A tiny frog, less than 3 cm long, produces enough poison for 40 to 50 arrows. The result for the arrow poison frog is that its powerful poison, developed to protect it from other predators, now brings it death at the hands of man. A great storybook for young readers to learn more about tree frogs, and other animals in the Amazon rainforest, is Ronnie the Red Eyed Tree Frog by Martin and Tanis Jordan. |