Colombia The Deadliest Poison Dart Frog in the World
Colombia is a transcontinental country that cuts across both South America and an insular region
of North America. It is one of the world s 17 megadiverse countries and has the second-highest
level of biodiversity in the world. The poison dart frog is the common name of a group
of frogs that are native to tropical Central and South America. Although they are brightly colored,
this is just a signal to predators that they are not worth eating. They are named poison dart frogs
since Native Americans use their secretions to poison the tip of their darts and arrows.
SIZE AND WEIGHT: Most species of poison dart frogs are
very small. Just about the size of a paper clip. Hardly do they average greater than
an inch in size. However, there are some species that go beyond this. Some are able
to grow up to 2.4 inches in length. When it comes to their weight, well,
it s a similar story. They weigh one ounce on average. This is about the same size as a pencil,
a CD, or a slice of bread. LOCATION:
When it comes to location, poison dart frogs are endemic to humid and tropical environments
of Central and South America. They typically stay in tropical rainforests. Although Colombia is the
country most associated with them, they can also be found in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Brazil,
Ecuador, Venezuela, Suriname, French Guiana, Peru, Panama, Guyana, and Nicaragua. They can also be
found in Hawaii, although they were artificially introduced and are not indigenous to the state.
natural habitat of most species of these creatures includes tropical, subtropical, and moist lowland
forests, high-altitude shrubland, montane forests and rivers, freshwater and intermittent freshwater
marshes, lakes, and swamps. Since they are amphibians, they never stray too far from water.
POPULATION: There are more than a hundred species
of poison dart frog in existence. Some estimates place the exact figure at 170 species. It s very
difficult to find actual population figures or even rough estimates for all of these species.
Nevertheless, it is known that most of them are endangered due to habitat loss, chytrid diseases,
and collection for the pet trade. The first and the last of these factors
aren t anything that other animals are unused to facing. However, the second, chytrid diseases,
are infectious fungal diseases unique to amphibians. Luckily, humans, other mammals,
reptiles, birds, fish, and invertebrates are not affected by this disease. Affected frogs stop
eating, shed their skin, and lose the ability to react to stimuli. After a while, they die.
Because of how much a threat these diseases are to poison dart frog populations, conservation groups
attempt to treat the frogs using medicines that are used to treat athlete s foot in humans.
DIETING: Poison dart frogs
are largely carnivorous. Adults typically feed on small insects like ants and termites which
they find on the forest floor. They capture their prey by using their sticky, retractable tongues.
Some species, like the tri-colored poison frog, are carnivorous
to the point of cannibalism. In addition to insect larvae, they eat other tadpoles too.
Tadpoles of most species are highly omnivorous, though. Since they have a lot of growing up to do,
they can t be too picky with the food they choose to eat. Their meals range from algae to detritus
to insect larvae to dead insects. Sometimes, females lay unfertilized eggs in a tadpole pond
for the young to happily feast on. There is an interesting link between
the dietary habits of poison dart frogs and their poison content. Some researchers argue that the
frogs don t synthesize the posion themselves and that their poison comes from a specific insect
in the forest that these frogs consume. These specific insects, in turn, get their poison from
consuming a particular plant. And so, poison dart frogs in captivity, who are given custom diets,
aren t poisonous at all. In captivity, they are fed with small crickets, bean beetles,
black worms, and fruit flies daily, making them safe to interact with.
LIFE CYCLE: These frogs usually mate
by external fertilization. The female first lays the eggs, which are then fertilized by the male.
The interesting thing about these frogs is that they are dedicated parents.
The moment eggs hatch into tadpoles, the adult frogs stick them to their backs using mucous
and then carry them into the rainforest canopy. Once there, the parents safely deposit the
tadpoles into pools of water that accumulate in epiphytic plants, such as bromeliads. Once there,
they feed on invertebrates, and, as mentioned earlier, the mother sometimes supplements these
meals with underutilized eggs. They typically live between 10 to
15 years in the wild. However, some frogs in captivity have grown as old as 23 years.
WHY ARE THEY DANGEROUS: Well, as we ve mentioned many times
by now, the main thing that makes these creatures dangerous is their poison. Many poison dart frogs
secrete lipophilic alkaloid toxins through their skin. This serves as protection against predation.
Some species are more toxic than others. This discrepancy is caused by genetics. Other than
that, as we mentioned earlier, the diet of these creatures is an environmental factor that can
affect the amount and potency of their toxins. Because poison dart frog species vary in the
make-up of their toxins, they have different effects on predators. Let s make a case study
of batrachotoxin. It is highly neurotoxic and is the most dangerous toxin that any
species of poison dart frog can make. When a predator consumes a frog that makes this toxin,
the secreted batrachotoxin goes to work, attacking the nervous system and causing convulsions,
muscle contractions, salivation, and even death. The toxin is released through colorless
or milky secretions from glands located on the back and behind the ears of the frogs.
Since there is no antidote to this toxin, the predator had best spit this toxin out immediately.
Otherwise, if they fail to, the dosage will rise high enough to kill them.
Larger predators will require a slightly higher dosage to die from these toxins. But even if it
doesn t kill them, the symptoms are no joke. Native Americans discovered the potency of these
toxins so long ago. The Noanam Choc and Ember Choc of the Embera-Wounaan of western Colombia
use these toxins for poisoning blowgun darts for use in hunting. Poison darts are prepared by the
Choc by first impaling a frog on a piece of wood. The frog is then held over or roasted alive over a
fire until it cries in pain. Bubbles of poison form as the frog's skin begins to blister. The
dart tips are prepared by touching them to the toxin, or the toxin can be caught in a container
and allowed to ferment. Paralysis from a poison dart can drop a bird or monkey in its tracks
instantaneously. SPECIAL ABILITIES:
Well, poison aside, there s one other thing that poison dart frogs are well known for: Their highly
bright coloration. This doesn t exist just to make them beautiful. Rather, it is part of a biological
defense mechanism known as Aposematism. Aposematism is a phenomenon in which certain
creatures advertise to would-be predators that they are not worth eating. This worthiness is
defined in different ways for different animals. Sometimes, it means they have a
bad taste, or bad smell, or sharp spines, or aggressive nature. For the poison dart frog,
it means they are highly toxic. Aposematism is exhibited by certain
species of beetles, cuttlefish, skunks, starfish, and snakes.
Another special adaptation of these creatures is that they have an amazing sense of sight.
This helps them locate tiny prey like ants and termites so as to capture them.
But having good sight is not enough. The real hunting apparatus which these creatures use
is their tongues. Being retractable is one thing, but these tongues are sticky
in addition, allowing their prey to get caught with little to no chance of escape.
ATTACKS AND ENCOUNTERS: In general, these creatures don t attack humans.
In addition, their bright coloration wards off predators. However, some daredevils and nature
enthusiasts have sought them out intentionally. One of these daredevils is the wildlife YouTuber
Coyote Peterson. The encounter happened in the rainforest of Costa Rica on May 17, 2017. Peterson
spent many hours trying to catch these creatures, often hurting himself doing so. Anytime he tried
to grab one, it managed to evade him by hopping out of the way in time. But finally, after several
tries, he managed to get a poison dart frog of the species Dendrobates auratus in his arms. He
managed to keep it in his hand by clamping down on its legs with his fingers. Although it started to
secrete its poisonous mucous, he was safe, as the toxin is only potent once inside the body.
Would you dare touching the Poison Dart Frog?