NEO FAUNA FROGS

Some folks we met here at the condos told us about a place just outside of town called Neo Fauna.  This is a butterfly, reptile, and frog farm where they specialize in species that are becoming extinct.  They capture them, help them reproduce, and release them back into the wild.
So one morning we took off on our bicycles and headed north out of town.  Gail figured it was about six or seven miles to get there with the last quarter mile down a rocky dirt road.
When we got there it was not a very impressive place.

Neo Fauna Farm

However, based on the reports from the folks at our condo, we decided to take the tour--we are certainly glad we did.  Our guide was a young man, about 30 years old, by the name of Josymar.  He was extremely knowledgeable.  He has already written three books and spent time in Europe studying the use of DNA in cross-breeding. 
There were a number of interesting species of frogs. One was called the Strawberry Poison Dart or Blue Jean Poison Dart frog. 

Blue Jean Poison dart Frog

Here are some interesting facts about this frog:

Though small, males of this species are aggressively territorial. During the day, males perch on rocks, trees, or fallen logs, and make calls. These are both to attract females to mate as well as to intimidate trespassing males. If an intruder persists and calls back, a wrestling competition may result for up to 20 minutes. The males stand upright on their hind legs and grapple for dominance. Once one is pinned for several minutes he will leave after the winner releases him.

The fascinating reproductive process of this species has captured the interest of biologists and tourists alike. When a female meets a male, he leads her to a place to lay their eggs, such as in a curved leaf or in moist leaf litter. Unlike many frogs, the male does not climb onto the female’s back in amplexus, but instead the pair stands vent to vent, or with their tails together. The female lays 3 to 4 eggs, the male fertilizes them, and his mate leaves. The parental care beginning at this stage is unmatched by other amphibians. The male keeps the eggs moist by emptying his bladder on them. He also eats any eggs that are infected with fungi or that do not develop, as well as any eggs left by other males. Tadpoles hatch after one week, when the female returns. One to four tadpoles at a time squirm onto her back, and she carries each one to a different plant or leaf stem that is holding water—bromeliads are often the choice. These carefully chosen nests are sometimes in the canopy, high up from the frog’s otherwise ground-level habitat. Amazingly, the tadpole chooses its spot by vibrating when the mother approaches a desirable spot. Each tadpole is placed in a separate plant, where the mother leaves it with 1 to 5 unfertilized eggs for protein and nutrients. For more than a month, the female returns every few days to feed her young.

The frog’s bright colors warn off predators because the colors signal the toxicity for which the Poison-dart is named. The Strawberry Poison-dart Frog is not known to be lethal to man, but its skin secretions may have unpredictable effects on humans. Other species in this frog’s family have been used to make blowgun darts especially lethal. The most lethal animal toxin known belongs to a frog (Phyllobates terribilis) related to the Blue-jeans; poison from a single individual can kill twenty thousand mice or ten adult humans. Needless to say, brightly colored relatives like the Blue-jeans have few predators, and once it reaches adulthood, this frog can live for 5 or 6 years. As eggs, however, this species is preyed upon by fungi, worms, snakes, and even other Blue-jeans.

Josymar told us that the poison from the frog must enter the blood stream in order to be effective.  He took the frog in his cupped hands and shook it like dice--no problem.  He said he once wanted to see what it felt like to be poisoned by the frog.  He intentionally cut his hand and rubbed the frog on the cut.  Within minutes his heart began racing (he said it ultimately got up to around 200 beats per minute). He had trouble breathing, he could not swallow, and he could not see.  After about thirty minutes he started to return to normal.  He was pretty certain he would survive because he was young and healthy. If, however, he would have had some vulnerability in his body like asthma, for example, he probably would not have survived. There is no antidote because the poison keeps changing depending on the diet of the frog.      


We also saw this little guy.

Fighter Frog

Not very pretty but the interesting thing about him is that he will fight another male for a female.  The way they fight is that they jump at each other and butt heads (like you see mountain goats do) until one of the males retreats.

One of the most impressive frogs we saw was this one.

Sleeping Red Eyed Leaf Frog

What is so impressive about this guy, you ask?  Well, in this picture he is sleeping.  When he wakes up, he looks like this:

Red Eyed Leaf Frog

He is called the Red-Eyed Leaf Frog.  There are 174 species of frogs in Costa Rica but this was by far the most colorful one we saw.  

Instead of hopping or walking like frogs that spend a lot of time on the ground, this frog climbs hand over hand through the trees. The adhesive disks on its toes and fingers help the frog cling to surfaces that are entirely vertical; this species also has a toe joint that keeps the toe disk flat on a surface no matter how the frog positions its feet. This frog can even parachute, by spreading out its gangly limbs and large feet and dropping from higher perches to lower branches.

The Red-Eyed Leaf  Frog is one of the most widely photographed and recognized amphibians in Central America.