2 .
1 .
up by freshwater crabs, fish or dragonflies.
A bit further along the route, nestled on a leaf ledge
over a puddle - perhaps overflow from one of the
scum-covered ponds - we accidentally intrude on a
pair of Red-eyed Tree Frogs copulating. Instantly,
nine pairs of eyes are trained on the unfortunate
amphibians. The female must support the male on
her backside potentially for several hours during
amplexus. Eventually, she will attach her clutch of
40-or-so eggs to the underside of a bromeliad, but
The delighted group meanders on, and after a while
we stop for a moment and switch off our torches.
The darkness is startling, yet after a few seconds, our
eyes become attuned to the lack of light. Overhead,
in the sky where the tree-top canopies open, we can
see shadows of clouds. No stars tonight. It’s been
raining almost non-stop for days.
“The sounds are incredible….and intimidating!”
not before she has tested the puddle below for
pollutants by sucking a sample of the water through
her belly. The male fertilizes the eggs externally, as
they are released, and approximately 5-7 days later
they’ll hatch into tadpoles and drop into the pool.
There they will stay for another 60-80 days to
mature into frogs - providing they are not gobbled
“The sounds are incredible,” one of the men on our
tour comments. “And intimidating.” Certainly, these
humid lowland forests of the Central American
tropics house an assortment of creatures, large and
small, that command respect from human intruders.
A nest of Bullet Ants, whose bite causes waves of
unremitting pain for up to 24 hours; a Bamboo Palm
1 .
Red-eyed Tree Frogs in amplexus. Image
by Gustavo Lillo.
3 .
2 .
Northern Cat-eyed Snake (Leptodeira
septentrionalis). Image by Edvard Mizsei.
3 .
Central American Bullfrog, or Smoky
Jungle Frog (Leptodactylus pentadactylus).
Image by Patrick K. Campbell.
4 .
Emerald Glassfrog (Espadarana
prosoblepon). Image by Dr Morley Read.
5 .
Hourglass Tree Frog (Dendropsophus
ebraccatus). Image by Dr Morley Read.
6 .
Loquacious Tree Frogs (Hyla loquax) in
amplexus, Image by Clinton Harris.