Poison Arrow frogs
Published on 3rd March, 2008
dipped into the poison of the frog's skin
Two tiny venomous blue frogs have been born at Terra Natura theme park in Benidorm. The little amphibians - Dendrobates azureus, also known as poison arrow frogs – are on the endangered species list, so naturalists at Terra Natura are really pleased that they've managed to breed in captivity.
The frogs live only in a small damp area of Surinam which is growing steadily smaller because of changes in that country and so breeding the frogs in places such as Terra Natura has assumed greater
importance.
Bright blue, the 4cm frogs use their colour as a warning to would be predators. The name Poison Arrow Frog was given to them because in days of yore, native hunters used arrows dipped into the poison
of the frog's skin to kill their prey.
Another interesting fact that our male readers will be interested to hear is that the lady frogs actually fight each other for who gets to mate with the male. However the downside of this is that the male has to look after all the little tadpoles – fetching and carrying for them – until they metamorphose into frogs.
If you're visiting Terra Natura you won't have to look very far to see these colourful creatures.
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