All About Frogs II

Picture showing Strawberry Poison Arrow Frog

Frogs are important to human beings. They are a source of food in some countries. They eat insects, some of which are serious pests. We use them for medical research to test for new drugs and students dissect them to learn about anatomy. They are also part of the eco-system which means that whatever happens to them will affect other animals and even us in different ways. We are all connected in the web of life.

How does a frog catch an insect ?
The frog's diet consist mainly of insects, small animals like earthworms, minnows and spiders. Most frogs have a sticky tongue. To catch an insect, the frog flips out its tongue rapidly, get the insect and retracts its tongue. Frogs will swallow their prey in one piece because they only have teeth in the upper jaw. Doesn't do much for chewing ! Frogs hunt mostly at night.

How does the frog protect itself from the enemy ?
The frog has enemies that will eat them. They are bats, heron, fish, racoons, turtles, snakes and even human beings. Human beings eat them and also destroy their natural habitat and prevent them from breeding. Different species of frogs have different kinds of protection. Some have poison glands in their skin, like a chemical warfare tactic !. The skin will secret and cover the body with the poison and this will deter the enemy from eating them. Some use colors to protect themselves. Some will be very brightly colored body (especially red and yellow) to warn enemies that it taste bad or are poisonous, so stay away ! Example of this is the Poison Arrow Frog(Poison-dart). The American Native Indians used their poison for their arrows.

Picture showing Poison Arrow Frog
The Malaysian Leap Frog will show bright colors to confuse its enemy. Others will use their color as camouflage to blend into the environment to hide from their enemies. The Tree-Frog does this pretty well. Frogs also have buldging eyes. This is to enable them to have a panoramic view (can view in all directions) and avoid the enemy.


Picture showing Tree Frog
Some will try to fool the enemy by puffing themselves up with air to make it look too big to be swallowed. An example is the Tomato Frog.


Picture showing Tomato Frogs
Then there is this False-Eyed frog which hunches over to show its two false eye spots at the back.


Picture showing False - Eyed Frog
The spots also oozes out foul smelling liquid. The eye spots are to scare the enemy away and if that does not work, it hopes to deter the enemy from eating it by the foul smell.


Picture showing the Leopard Frog
The Leopard Frog will play dead by keeping very still and holding its breathe to avoid being eaten. Some will give out a loud scream to startle the enemy to drop them. Some will urinate as it jumps away to give it a bad taste and also to cover their scent.