Wild Lives: Protective Parents

Rainforest predators know better than to eat poison-dart frogs ­ the bright colors that the small frogs flaunt warn potential predators that they contain bitter-tasting toxins. Poison-dart frog tadpoles, however, do not have this built-in defense system. Instead, they climb onto their parents' backs after they hatch and hitch a ride to safer ground. For some species, including the two pictured here, safer ground means sky-high swimming holes created by the cup-like leaves of bromeliads. The parents deposit a single tadpole in each bromeliad; if one pool is found by a predator, the rest of their offspring will still be safe.

Above, Female Strawberry poison-dart frogs, Dendrobates pumilio, might win the mom-of-the-year award among amphibians. After carting their young to the safety of bromeliad sanctuaries, they return to the plants each day to lay unfertilized eggs, which serve as food for the developing tadpoles. Photo: Dong Lin, CAS.

Below, Green and black poison-dart frogs, Dendrobates auratus, also use bromeliads as nurseries for their young. These young frogs were bred and born here at Steinhart Aquarium. Photo: Dong Lin, CAS.