- Right here, guys, right on the end of this log,
look at that, they will hide inside of mailboxes
and they will actually use that echoey sound
to help louden their call to draw in the females.
- [Cameraman] Oh no, no, no.
- [Coyote] Oh-oh.
(dynamic jungle music)
Under the light and heat of the scorching, Australian sun,
the outback looks nearly inhospitable for living creatures.
The parched landscape is dappled
with sparse trees and dense underbrush,
this is the type of environment
we'd expect to find reptiles like snakes and lizards,
certainly not a menagerie of amphibians.
However, as the sun sets and darkness creeps in,
the nighttime temperatures begin to cool,
this atmospheric change creates a comfortable setting,
that allows the more fragile animal species
to emerge from hiding,
without the threat of being scorched
by the intense daytime heat.
Tonight we are out exploring the wild lands
of Meandarra, a remote town set far
into the easternly stretches of the outback
nearly 250 miles from any bustling city.
This formula of time, temperature and location
equates to the perfect conditions
for encountering a variety of Australian frog species,
but first, we have to find
the last and most important element,
a permanent body of water.
Alright guys, we have made it to our target location
and as you can see, it's pretty dark out,
which is the perfect time to search for amphibians
and if you listen,
(frogs calling)
there are a ton of frogs calling,
so I have a feeling we're gonna be getting various species
up close for the cameras tonight,
so if you guys are ready, let's get into the water
and see what we can find.
(frogs calling)
(light jungle music)
Watch out for snakes in this tall grass,
where there are frogs,
there will definitely be snakes hunting.
(frogs calling)
(light jungle music)
It's like grass all totally saturated with water,
it smells like cow dung,
I think I'm actually walking in cow poop right now.
Alright, let's go around the outside of this tree here
and make our way in this direction.
(frogs calling)
(suspenseful music)
- [Cameraman] You've gotta keep your eyes
up as well, it turns out.
- Yeah, that is a big spider and one very elaborate web.
Alright, let's just cleverly move
around the outside of that.
Oh, there's a frog right there, look at this.
- [Cameraman] What have you got?
Oh yeah. - Right here,
it's tiny, it's a spotted marsh frog.
Hold on, I gotta be really delicate with this one.
(frogs calling)
Got it.
Ooh, no, no, oh, come here,
hold on.
(light jungle music)
Got it.
Hey guy,
that is a spotted marsh frog right there.
- [Cameraman] Just a little fella.
- Oh yeah, teeny tiny,
actually it's missing this front hand,
look at that, he's got a nub hand,
poor little guy. - What's that,
from predators?
- Yeah, possibly so, maybe even another frog.
Alright, well, let's let him back down onto the ground
and continue hunting, alright, see you later, buddy.
You've gotta watch everywhere you step,
this place is covered in frogs.
- [Cameraman] You know, I noticed
that there's a lot of cow tracks?
- [Coyote] Yes.
- [Cameraman] They seem to make
really good little burrows for these frogs.
- They really do
and we're actually in a cow pasture right now
and the frogs are able to hide down in those little crevices
and as you can hear, the frogs are everywhere,
it's just a matter of actually finding them,
almost like needles in a haystack out here,
it's a lot tougher than you'd think.
Let's keep making our way in this direction
around the pond.
(frogs calling)
- [Cameraman] What have you got?
- Two different frog species
and actually I think I bumped into a turtle out there,
something bounced off my legs,
but I had my hands full
and in my left here is the desert tree frog,
Australia's most widespread frog species
and in my right is the emerald spotted tree frog
and they get that name from all the emerald speckling,
that is scattered across its back
and I love this one's eyes, look at that,
they have a star shape right in the middle,
almost looks like the gray tree frogs,
that we're used to seeing in Ohio.
Side by side.
Alright, well let's let these two go
and see if we can find something a little bigger.
(squelching footsteps)
(frogs calling)
(light suspenseful music)
Right here, guys, right on the end of this log,
look at that,
that's a white tree frog,
can you see it in my flashlight beam there?
- [Cameraman] Oh yeah.
- Oh, that's the big one we've been looking for.
Hold on, let me catch it real quick.
You got a good shot on it? - Yeah.
- You're not going anywhere, buddy.
- [Cameraman] Oh, so cool.
- Hold on, let me get my hands wet first.
Ready, you got a shot of it? - Yeah.
(frogs calling)
(light jungle music)
Oh, look at that,
that is one of the largest frog species here in Australia,
that is the white tree frog,
also known as the Australian green tree frog
or as some people call it, the dumpy frog,
oh my gosh, he's so cool, look at how chubby he is.
I've never seen this frog before,
oh, look at this, she's climbing.
There you go, just sit on my wrist there.
Actually you know what?
This is a female, the way you can tell the difference
between the females and the males
is that the females are a bit larger
and the underside of their chin is completely white,
the males have a pale gray underside to their chin.
- [Cameraman] Look how chubby that frog is.
- That is a super chubby frog.
Now what they will do, why they are sometimes so chubby,
they can actually be chubbier than this
is they store water underneath their skin,
that water reserve works in times of drought
to keep these frogs hydrated.
Wow, how cool looking is that creature?
Looks like a big, green booger.
Now, it's not real distinct on this frog,
but can you see all that white speckling
on the side of the body and across the back there?
- [Cameraman] Yeah.
- That is one very distinct feature about these frogs
and their individual little toe pads
are so incredibly sticky, like most tree frog species,
they're capable of hanging on to almost anything
and you see what it's doing right there?
That's sort of a defense pose,
it's curled itself up into a ball
and it's thinking, "Okay, if I don't move,
"maybe I will stay completely camouflaged on Coyote's arm."
This is about as well-behaved as you can get for a frog,
I thought it was gonna be jumping all over the place
and it is so squishy, look at how big that frog is.
- [Cameraman] Look how green it is.
- You know, the camera's are facing that direction, buddy,
I mean, turn you around here, let's see.
- [Cameraman] I think that's the dumpy shot.
- Let's see, how about like that,
does that work right there?
It just wants to crawl up on my elbow,
oh, here we go, going up my arm,
wow, look at that ability to crawl,
okay, guys, you got a good shot there.
Now it reminds me of the lemur leaf frog,
the way that it's just walking along,
as opposed to hopping, where you going?
All the way on my back,
we can't film ya, if you're on my back.
Is it still there, you guys got an okay shot of it?
- [Cameraman] Yeah.
- Okay, well, let's just keep talking,
it seems to be comfortable,
it's clearly running the show here.
These frogs have an incredible call,
they're very, very loud and one thing they will actually do
is hide inside of hollow containers,
like a mailbox for example,
they will hide inside of mailboxes
and they will actually use that echoey sound
to help louden their call to draw in the females.
- Oh, no, no. - Oh-oh.
- Down into your bag. - Oh-oh.
- [Cameraman] Okay, alright, slowly take off your pack.
- [Coyote] Yeah, he's got a little place,
- [Cameraman] Okay now, yeah, he's having a look.
- good place to hide. - very comfortable there.
Careful, careful, okay.
I got it.
- Got him? - Yep, there you go.
- Okay.
- Pass the frog. - There we go, buddy.
I'm gonna go ahead and dip my hands again,
make sure that we keep its body moist.
(splashing water)
At any time that you handle any amphibian,
you wanna make sure that your hands are moist,
because our dry skin actually draws a lot of the moisture
from their skin, out of their skin
and while it is here in this body of water,
we do wanna make sure the frog is kept moist at all times.
This may be one of the coolest tree frogs
I have ever caught,
it's amazing how uniform in design its skin is,
very smooth, very sleek, very shiny,
look at those little tiny eardrums,
you see those just under those folds of skin?
And these frogs can retain so much water
that at points in time, those flaps of skin
will actually fold down over the ears
and sometimes over their eyes.
There you go, just get comfortable right there,
perfect, that's an awesome shot.
- [Cameraman] So Coyote, what do these frogs eat?
- Well, they are opportunistic,
which means they will eat pretty much anything
they can fit in their mouths, from insects
to possibly even other frogs and small snakes.
- [Cameraman] Now, is this one full grown,
is that a large frog?
- For a female, yeah, this is about full grown
and the females do grow larger than the males.
This frog is pretty comfortable
perched upon my finger there,
but I think it is time to let it back off into the pond.
Now we came to Australia expecting to find reptiles
and I was thinking to myself, well, it's so dry,
we probably won't come across any amphibians,
but lo and behold, tonight here, by this body of water,
we've come across several frog species,
including the dumpy tree frog.
I'm Coyote Peterson
be brave,
stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
Working within special permits
and alongside the renowned experts
from Australian Wildlife Encounters,
we were pleasantly surprised to learn
that aside from the reptilian species,
a wide variety of amphibian
also call this rugged landscape home.
Who would have ever imagined that a stinky old cow pond
could also double as an aquatic paradise
for some of the outback's most incredible frogs?
Hey Coyote Pack, I have some exciting news.
I'm proud to announce that the crew and I
will be back on tour in 2018 with Brave Wilderness Live,
visiting cities all across North America.
Our first shows are in Anaheim and San Diego, California,
from there we head to Phoenix, Arizona,
beyond that, we will be visiting San Francisco, California,
Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington and Boulder, Colorado
with many more shows to be announced in the coming months.
Tickets can be purchased at the Brave Wilderness website,
so make sure to reserve your seats today
and don't forget, subscribe, so you can join me and the crew
on this season of Breaking Trail.
I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave.
- [Audience] Stay wild!
(dynamic jungle music)