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Life in the Forest

Life in the River

The Insect World

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An Amazon Adventure USA

Tree and Arrow Poison Frogs

Tree frogs are commonly found in tropical rainforest throughout the world. Frequent rain and high humidity means that these amphibians often find a suitable home among the trees and on the forest floor – particularly in areas close to rivers and ponds, or in the cloud forests of Peru where the high mountain forests trap moist air forming a dewy mist.

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.

Although most frogs depend on their green or mottled coloration to carefully conceal them from potential predators, some frogs don't need to bother. The arrow poison frogs (also called poison dart frogs) of Central and South America come in a rainbow of bright colours which are truely beautiful to see. However, these colours are a bold warning to potential predators – the frog is poisonous shouldn't be messed with. There are about 60 species of arrow poison frogs, ranging from brilliant reds, to incandescent blues, and bright yellow.

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.