- Nice to meet you.
Finally found one after all these years.
The splendid leaf frog.
Wow!
(drumming)
(roaring)
In the Costa Rican rainforest, wildlife is present
in nearly every direction you look.
However, many of our adventures through this environment
can be quite challenging.
And, rarely is the target species simply spotted
by just surveying our immediate surroundings.
(dramatic music)
Nearly all of the creatures we search for
are well-adapted to staying hidden.
And not only from us, but also from their predatory foes,
that may be lurking just in the shadows.
Tonight we are on location at one of
our favorite destinations in all of Latin America,
the Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center.
This reserve's extraordinary efforts
to rehabilitate and restore specific amphibian populations
might just make our expedition tonight, well,
a little easier than normal.
And, the creature we're after
is actually one that I've been particularly keen to find,
since we first started exploring this part of the world.
What's going on guys?
I'm Mark Vins, and we have hiked all the way
out here in the rainforest to find
a very specific species of frog.
In fact, one of the frogs that I have been
looking for for three years.
And, we have finally found a place
where I think we're gonna get some luck.
Come check this out.
(upbeat music)
See that there?
This is an artificial breeding habitat,
and those there are actually tadpoles
of the splendid leaf frog.
Come over here Mario, get a tight shot of that.
See all those tadpoles?
- [Mario] Oh yeah.
- Turns out this breeding site is working quite well.
In fact, when the reserve was founded over 16 years ago
there was only a single tree that was able to be located
that housed the splendid leaf frog.
And, since that time, and the implementation
of these breeding sites, they've actually been able
to boost the population fivefold.
Now, what the frogs will do at a site like this
is they'll actually come in,
and let me see if I can find some eggs.
Don't see, oh here we go.
Do you see that right there?
It looks like the remnants of an egg mass.
A lot of these have already hatched
and have dropped in the water.
What will happen is the frogs will lay eggs on the leaves,
and then when the tadpoles hatch they'll actually
fall down into this water pocket,
and then they'll go through their larval stage.
And, they'll actually emerge as little frogs.
So, we know there's tadpoles, we know there's eggs,
with any luck, mom and dad should be close by.
Let's start looking.
(sloshing)
All right, I see one.
You guys rolling?
You have a shot?
I need to find a stick.
All right, this one should do.
And, what's really cool about these frogs
is that they're actually pretty docile.
(suspenseful music)
This little guy, if I'm lucky,
should crawl right up, hey.
Crawl right up on the stick.
Just like that.
Wow.
The splendid leaf frog.
Nice to meet you.
Finally found one after all these years.
Check that out.
Hello.
All right guys, let's head back on trail
so we can get this guy up close to the cameras.
All right.
Yes, look at this.
Woo!
The splendid leaf frog.
After three years of extensively searching this property,
we have finally got to meet one of the most
beautiful species here in Latin America, in my opinion.
I mean, look at those brilliant orange pads.
Totally vibrant.
And, look at those eyes.
Just like a pale gray,
with a slight halo of yellow surrounding.
Can you get that shot Mario? - Oh yeah.
- Get in tight on those eyes.
Beautiful.
What a unique looking leaf frog.
I mean, we've featured all kinds of species so far
on Brave Wilderness, everything from red eye leaf frogs,
to poison frogs, to bullfrogs, to smoky jungle frogs.
But, I have to say, of all the frogs
that we've had in front of the camera so far,
this one, the splendid leaf frog, is the most impressive.
Here, let me flip it around so you can see
the backside of the frog.
You can see how well they can camouflage when the tuck in,
these flaps of skin cover all this coloring during the day
so they can be up in the treetops
and you would never see them.
They blend in very, very well with their surroundings.
And as far as what these frogs are eating
here in the rainforest, basically anything
they can fit in their mouths.
They're eating a lot of insects, a lot of invertebrates,
potentially anything that crawls
in front of their face is fair game.
You may be asking yourself,
what might actually eat this frog?
And, the answer to that would be snakes.
There are many species of snakes that live here
in the rainforest that would call this little guy lunch.
But, one snake in particular would be the parrot snake,
because that species of snake is arboreal
and likes to climb trees during the day
looking for sleeping leaf frogs like this one.
(upbeat music)
So, while this little guy might be out here at night
foraging for food, during the day he's hunkered down,
hiding from those pesky parrot snakes.
Look at how well it's staying put on that stick.
Mario are you getting great shots or what?
- [Mario] Yeah, this is probably one of
the easiest frogs I've ever filmed.
- Right?
This is amazing.
I mean, it's almost like striking a pose, look at that.
Now you guys know, I absolutely love frogs.
Frogs are by far my favorite land animal.
And, this frog has got to be at the top of the list.
Not quite the green and black poison frog,
which as you all know is my favorite.
I would say this frog is a close second.
So cool, so unique.
And, the striping on the sides there.
In fact, let me get a little water on my hand.
You never wanna hold any amphibian with dry hands
because it wicks moisture away from their bodies.
So, I'm gonna wet my hands there a little bit.
And, you definitely don't wanna wear bug spray either.
That's the one thing, if you're ever going to handle
any amphibian, whether it be a bullfrog in the pond
next to your house, or a salamander that you find
crawling along the forest,
you always wanna make sure you have no bug spray,
and you have a little bit of moisture on your fingers.
And then, of course, you wanna be as gentle as possible.
Let me see if I can get this little frog
to step up on my finger here.
There ya go.
Perfect.
How about that?
Can you see those stripes?
- [Mario] Oh yeah, gorgeous.
- Look at how vivid the stripes on that frog are.
You can definitely see why they call these little guys
the tigers of the leaf frogs.
Just amazing.
Well, how about that, after three years
of coming to the Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center,
we finally got to meet the splendid leaf frog.
I'm Mark Vins.
Be brave, stay wild,
we'll see ya on the next adventure.
All right, let's go put this guy back on his leaf.
I must say, having the opportunity to meet
this charismatic creature, and witness the resurgence
of the splendid leaf frog on this reserve,
will go down as one of my favorite experiences
at the Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center.
If you'd like to learn more about
the Reserve's conservation efforts,
visit their website cramphibian.com.
If you thought getting up close with the splendid leaf frog
was fascinating, make sure to go back and watch the time
we came across a frog with transparent skin.
And, don't forget, subscribe,
and click the notification bell,
so you can join me and the crew on our next adventure.
- That is the green stripe glass frog.
So, now we're up to two frog species
that we were looking for.
Let's get them back in a controlled setting,
get 'em on a piece of glass, and up close for the cameras.
Yes, this is awesome!
All right guys, careful getting back outta here.
- Mario, man, yes. - All right.
- [Coyote] Here comes the jump, and the reveal.
Look at that.
You can see right through the underside of that amphibian.
All right, let me, oh no, you need to.
Where you going?
That's a cool shot. - It's really cool.
- Hold on, I'm gonna bring it back down here.
I don't want it to jump off and onto your camera.
Okay, I'm gonna get it back down here.
I'm gonna actually give it a little dip of water here.
Since we've got him off the glass.
There you go buddy.
All right, here we go.
Here comes the hop.
They're so incredibly light-weight.
Oh, there's a great shot of the leg there.
Oh, he tucked it back in.
And see, when I get the light right up to the leg,
you can see right through it.
You can see the skeletal structure, you can see the insides.
Wow, that's so cool.
- [Mark] Coyote, I gotta tell you what I'm seeing here,
I'm actually looking at the heart filling and pumping blood.
You can actually see the blood
moving in and out of the heart.
(roaring)