(hacking grass)
- Oh, I heard it.
- [Mark] Oh.
- [Brian] Hurry, he's right here.
- [Coyote] Get him in the bag before he jumps again.
Oh, oh, oh, he's on my hand.
- [Mark] I've been waiting to get this shot for years.
- (blows air) Look at that.
You can see right through the underside of that amphibian.
(fast-paced drum music)
(roaring)
(water splashing)
I love frogs, always have, always will.
In fact, I don't think I have ever met a person
that didn't love frogs.
I mean, what's not to love?
So, when it comes to finding
an incredibly high density of frog species,
one of the best places you can visit
are the rainforests of Central and South America.
On this adventure, the Brave Wilderness team and I
are back at the Costa Rican Amphibian Research Reserve,
where once again, we will be working alongside
world-renowned frog expert, Brian Kubicki.
(woodwind music) (hacking leaves)
Alright guys, well we just had
an enormous rain storm push through,
which makes it the perfect time
to head out into the rainforest and search for amphibians.
Now, we're looking for glass frogs tonight.
We're not only gonna be looking,
we're gonna be using our ears
to see if we can hear them first
before we spot them with our flashlights.
So, if you guys are ready, let's head into the darkness
and see what we can find.
Most species become active at night.
So as we headed off into the darkness,
it wasn't long before the sounds of frogs
were all around us.
Now, we had great rain that pushed through,
so there's a lot of moisture out tonight.
But I noticed so far,
we've been searching along the edge of this stream.
Is, like, flowing water the best place
to search for glass frogs?
- [Brian] Yeah, definitely.
Glass frogs, they're associated with streams and rivers.
So, what we're gonna be doing tonight,
we'll be walking along these smaller streams
looking in the vegetation growing on the banks.
So we'll kind of, we'll be going along,
listening for the calls, and then we'll look
according to what the species call from.
- Okay, well this looks like as good a place as any
to get into the water.
So you wanna lead the way and we'll head upstream to start?
- [Brian] Sounds good.
- Alright, let's go, guys.
Watch your footing coming through here
and of course, keep your eyes peeled for Fer-de-Lance.
Glass frogs are Brian's specialty.
So, our goal was to find two species
that we could compare side-by-side.
And it wasn't long before we had
the first frog of the night in our sights.
Let's go ahead and get this one in a little bag here.
I got one in my pocket here.
We're just gonna use a simple collection bag.
This is perfect for storing small amphibians temporarily.
We'll bring it right back out onto it's leaf tonight.
- [Brian] I'll pull this down a little bit,
and you can maybe, you might be able.
- [Mark] I think it's leaped to this leaf, yep.
- [Brian] Oh, oop, he's jumped down here.
- [Coyote] Where'd he go?
- [Mark] I think he's gonna flip, though.
- That shadow, Mark, he's right there.
I see him hanging off the backside of the leaf.
(mumbling)
There we go.
Perfect.
Oh, put him in the bag before he jumps again.
Oh, oh, oh, he's on my hand.
Got him in the bag.
Hold on, let me come up.
See him in there?
- [Mark] Yeah.
On your finger.
- [Coyote] Oh, he's trying to get out.
Other way, buddy, other way.
There we go.
- [Mark] Okay, Cool.
Oh, there he is.
I can see him on the side of the bag.
- The dwarf glass frog is considered common,
so it was almost guaranteed
that we would come across this species.
Awesome!
Part one of two.
Now, we need to find one with a transparent ventral side.
Oh, stay down there buddy.
Okay, let's keep going.
However, finding a glass frog
with a transparent ventral side
was going to be much more challenging.
So, we headed deeper to the rainforest.
Brian's amphibian reserve spans
over 120 acres of pristine rainforest.
It's a labyrinth of disorienting confusion.
But the good news for us,
was that Brian knew every step of it
like the back of his hand.
Eventually, we made our way up into a small feeder creek,
the one place that he was confident
that we would find the tiny treasure
we had been searching for.
- [Brian] Oh, we got right here, Mark.
- Yes, yes, yes.
- [Mark] Careful, Mario, it's slick back here.
- Guys, watch your footing.
It's really narrow right here.
Oh, man, alright, here Mark.
Let me get up to this spot.
- [Mark] Okay.
- [Coyote] Here Mario, can you see it?
- [Mario] Yeah, I'm on it.
- [Coyote] You see Him?
- [Mark] Yeah.
- [Coyote] There he goes.
And we got him.
- [Mark] Nice.
That what we're looking for.
Oh, man, that's so cool.
- That is the green stripe glass frog.
So, now, we have the two frog species
that we were looking for.
Let's get them back in a controlled setting.
Get him on a piece of glass and up close for the cameras.
Yes, this is awesome!
Alright, guys, careful getting back out of here.
- [Mark] Mario.
Man, yes! - Alright.
- With two distinctly different specimens in our possession,
we safely made our way out of the rainforest
and back to the jungle base camp.
Alright guys, and we are back in a controlled setting.
Now, this is the only good way
to get an up close look at the glass frog.
And what I have right in front of me here,
just coincidentally, is a piece of glass.
Now, we have sanded down the edges, so it isn't sharp
and no one's gonna cut themselves,
and what we're gonna do is actually place
these little, itty bitty frogs on the backside of the glass,
so that we can get a good look at their bellies.
Alright, now to get this piece of glass to stand up right,
I actually have these clamps.
And what we're gonna do is secure one gently on that side
and another one right over here like so,
and then I have these last two,
so that it doesn't accidentally wobble and fall over,
we're gonna place right
up against that edge.
There we go.
You see that?
Now, that is locked in place.
And we're gonna position this one right there.
Cool, check that out.
Now, that looks perfect.
Can you see through there?
- [Mark] I sure can.
- Now, I also have my SOG flashlight,
my trusty SOG flashlight, the dark energy.
And once we have a frog up on the back side here,
I'll be able to do this.
Light it up and you'll be able to see right through it.
- [Mark] Cool.
- Now, what I also have is this little container of water.
And that's because I'll be constantly
keeping my fingers moist
while manipulating the frogs tonight.
This water has been filtered.
It is completely safe for the animals.
Okay, you guys ready to bring out our stars?
- [Mark] Let's see those frogs.
- Alright, I got 'em right here.
Two little Kermits comin' in hot.
Oh, perfect, look at that shot right there.
See the undersides?
There is the green stripe
and there is the dwarf.
Now, we'll get the dwarf out first
and let's take a look at its top side
before we go to the belly.
Does that sound good? - Do it, yeah.
- Alright, now I am going to use this leaf
and try to gently coax the frog out.
Now, we have worked with some fragile animals before,
but nothing is more delicate that a glass frog.
Okay, the dwarf one is right where we want it to be.
- [Mark] How are you supposed to get it out?
- Yup, so I'm gonna try to slip him off onto the leaf.
(intense music)
Oh, on my finger.
- [Mark] Okay, I can see right through like that.
- [Coyote] I wanna see, got an okay shot there?
- [Mark] Sure do.
- [Coyote] Let me see if I can just get him
to hop right up on the glass.
Go for it.
Perfect, look at that.
Like a little sticky green booger.
So cool.
So tiny, too.
Look, I will put my thumb right up next to the glass.
That frog is no bigger than the tip of my thumb,
and you can see--
Go ahead and zoom in on it there, Mark.
It's tough for me to see that side.
Look at that green coloration.
So vibrant, especially under the lights.
- [Mark] Frogs have a lot of personality. (chuckles)
- Oh, they really do, and you can see--
Oh, look at it, lookin' right towards you.
They're very, very intelligent.
You can see right now, it's just looking
for somewhere to jump next.
I'm hoping it's gonna stay right on the glass for us.
You'll notice the skin is very shiny, right?
It's very moist.
And look at how big those eyes are.
Now, one very interesting thing about glass frogs
is their eyes rest right on the front of their skull.
Now, this is a great chance for us to look
at this frog's little tiny toes.
And they do have a very minimal amount of webbing,
especially between the front toes
and the back toes, I can actually see the bones
in the toes in the light here.
That's crazy, and look how they can manipulate
the position of their fingers.
Look at that.
You see how these left two here are turned to the side.
And these frogs are not only excellent at jumping,
but also at climbing.
Here, let's do this real quick.
Let's see what happens when I light this frog up.
- [Mark] Okay.
- [Coyote] Ready?
- [Mark] Mhm.
Point it up at it.
There you go.
Yep, that's great, right there.
Cool.
- [Coyote] Here you go, buddy.
Go this way.
- [Mark] Now, Coyote, why are you using the forceps
instead of your fingers?
- [Coyote] Well, those forceps definitely are not absorbing
any moisture out of the frog's body.
What I don't wanna do, because my hands are warm, is--
Whoa, all the way over the glass.
Did you see that?
That was a high jump right there.
Oh, on my arm.
Okay.
The heat from my skin will actually draw
some of the moisture from its body,
so that's why I'm using the forceps to keep it in one spot.
Okay, here we go. - I don't see the behind.
- [Mark] Yeah, yeah, see the behind, we saw the--
- Oh, ooh.
- Yeah, here-- - Okay.
(frog springing) There we go.
- [Mark] Perfect.
- Alright.
Now, you can see that the upper half of its ventral side
is not completely transparent.
I wonder if we're gonna get out in a second
you can see everything on the inside.
But from the back here, I can see the heart beating.
I can also see the bones in the legs.
And you can see all the pigmentation of the skin.
That is a real great example
of why they're named glass frogs.
You can see how semi-translucent all the membrane is
in this frog's body.
And did you guys know this, that Kermit the Frog,
the inspiration for the design of that very famous puppet
actually came from the glass frog.
And you'll notice--
Here we go, let me see if I can do this.
You see how each little toe
looks like it has a suction cup on it?
And there is a great little move there.
You see how they just kind of hop and walk at the same time?
And when they're up in the treetop canopy,
they're moving around from leaf to leaf hunting for insects.
Now, they are little tiny carnivores.
They're voracious predators and every single night,
once it gets dark, they're primarily nocturnal,
they are hunting nonstop and a little creature like this
can eat bug after bug after bug.
- [Mark] So, Coyote, we're gonna be looking at
two species of glass frogs tonight.
How many are here in Costa Rica?
- Ah, great question!
There are actually 14 described species
of glass frog here in Costa Rica.
Now, the two that we're looking at tonight
are rather common, but there's a new one
that was just described in 2015,
and actually Brian, who we were out with earlier tonight,
he actually discovered that frog
and named it. - He's the one who--
Yeah, he classified it, cool. - He is the glass frog expert.
Well, that's why we were out with him tonight
to find these two species.
And I think at this point, let's get the dwarf glass frog
back into the container and bring out the green stripe.
Does that sound good?
- [Mark] Sounds good to me.
- [Coyote] Okay, now, let's see
if I can just get this guy
to jump right up onto this other side.
- [Mark] Perfect.
- [Coyote] And let's if I can get this
to just jump right inside here.
Here we go and...
- [Mark] Pretty impressed by the jumping ability
of these little frogs.
- [Coyote] Oh, it's crazy right?
- [Mark] Yeah, they can really move.
- [Coyote] There we go.
- [Mark] Perfect.
Well, I can already tell this one is a lot more translucent.
- [Coyote] Well, yeah, look at all of that
beautiful speckling on its back.
Now, they get the name green stripe because oh--
Kermit, come back!
- [Mark] Where is he?
- [Coyote] He's right here.
Frisky little guy.
There we go.
Now, look at all the beautiful speckling
on that frog's back.
This one is so unique looking,
and they get the name green stripe
because if you look right down the center of its back,
it has a very distinct green stripe.
Now, you'll notice the eye structure on this one
is a little different.
The eyes actually look a little smaller
and the pupil is a little wider, oh.
Let's bring you back over here.
- [Mark] Frisky little frogs.
- [Coyote] Yeah, they do have a mind of their own.
- [Mark] There's a bunch of yellow spots all over it.
- Yeah, it does.
That's really cool looking and you'll notice
that the toe structure's also very similar.
And just like the dwarf glass frog,
this is an arboreal species as well.
I just really wanna try to get it backed up
in the center of the glass here.
Okay.
Okay, that's a great spot.
Now, it's got this entire glass to work its way up.
And I love that, how they just keep their bodies
slightly off of the leaf.
And again, that ability to not only hop,
but also hop and walk at the same time.
Now, the green stripe is incredibly rare.
This species was only rediscovered in 2004.
And dating back to 1952, between '52 and 2004,
there were only four of these that were found.
Isn't that pretty crazy?
This is a very, very rare amphibian
for us to be looking at tonight.
And he's back down on the table.
Let's go back up on the glass.
There you go.
The only way that we were able to locate one of these frogs
was being out there tonight with Brian and his expertise
for not only being able to hear these frogs,
but then also being able to spot them in the wild
is unlike anything.
He is truly the glass frog expert.
Alright, now, the top side is very impressive,
the speckling and green stripe and those big eyes,
but I know what you guys are waiting for
is to see the ventral side where we can actually see
those internal working organs.
Should we bring it around?
- [Mark] I've been waiting to get this shot for years.
- [Coyote] Alright, let me delicately
get it back onto this leaf.
There we go.
That's good.
And get ready for it.
Here comes the jump
and the reveal.
Look at that.
- [Mark] Oh, boy.
- [Coyote] You can see right through
the underside of that amphibian.
Alright, let me--
Oh, no, you need to--
Oh, where you goin'?
- [Mark] Kermy.
- That's a cool shot.
- [Mark] 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 him back down here.
I'm gonna actually give it a little dip of water here,
since we've got off the glass.
There you go, buddy.
Alright, here we go.
Here comes the hop.
- [Mark] Dink.
- [Coyote] They're so incredibly lightweight.
Oh, there's a great shot of the leg there--
Oh, and he tucked it back in.
You can see when I get the light right up to the leg,
you can see right through it.
You could see the skeletal structure.
You can see the insides.
Oh, that's so cool.
- [Mark] Okay, 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.
- [Coyote] That is so cool.
You can see some of the arteries through there can't you?
- [Mark] Oh, yeah.
- [Coyote] Can you see on the back side of the leg?
I can kinda see some through on this side.
- [Mark] You can see the whole digestive system.
You can see all the vascular system.
You could see it all.
You could see everything.
- [Coyote] I would say out of any of the amphibians
we have ever filmed, this has got to be the coolest.
Look at that.
Right there is the most quintessential textbook shot
you can get of a glass frog.
- [Mark] Man, I've been waiting to shoot this for so long.
This is so cool.
- Well, we have been to Costa Rica many times
and now we finally have the opportunity
to work with a glass frog
that has a completely transparent ventral side.
Now, this one here is a male
and what's really interesting about this species
is that the males actually take care of
and look after the eggs.
Now, they often times will lay their egg masses
on low hanging leaves near flowing water.
And when those eggs hatch, the tadpoles drop down
into the water and that cycle will repeat.
Now, let's look at the size of this frog.
I'm gonna hold my thumb up right there.
It is no bigger than a thumb.
And this frog is full grown.
Now, the largest glass frog species here in Costa Rica
only grows to be about three centimeters in length,
but there is one in South America
that grows quite a bit larger, if 8.4 centimeters is larger.
I mean, it's certainly nothing like the smoky jungle frogs
that we've come across here or the bullfrogs
that we've seen in the States, but doesn't matter.
Size is not everything when it comes to being adorable
because this frog is absolutely the cutest amphibian
I think I have ever seen.
(laughs) Wow.
This was so cool.
Well, it's taken us several trips to Costa Rica,
but we finally managed to get the tiny glass frog
up close for the cameras.
I'm Coyote Peterson.
Be brave.
Stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
Working with amphibians is a difficult balance,
as these fragile creatures must always be handled
with incredible care to ensure their well being.
Under Brian's guidance and expertise,
we managed to not only get the images we needed,
but also safely released the frogs
back into the same locations where we had found them.
If you would like the chance
to see some of these amazing rainforest animals in the wild,
make sure to visit the Costa Rican Amphibian Research
Reserves website to book your adventure today.
If you thought the glass frog was fascinating,
make sure to go back and watch our first collaboration
with Brian, where we got the incredibly rare
lemur leaf frog up close for the cameras.
And don't forget, subscribe,
so you can join me and the crew
on this season of Breaking Trail.
(roaring) (howling)