tree frogs – Lee Duigon

Jambo! Mr. Nature here–and let’s go on safari to the South American rain forest and see the flying frogs.

These tree frogs live in the treetops and have the ability to use the webbing in their hands and feet as a kind of parachute, which allows them to make death-defying leaps and not get hurt. It’s as good a way as any to escape the attentions of the tree boa.

See what God the Designer can do with small changes in the basic format of an animal. Frogs are frogs, easily recognized; but with a little tweaking here and there, the same basic frog design can be adapted to just about any environment. You won’t find them on the ice-cap and you won’t find them in salt water; but they’re just about everywhere else. Even deserts.

Behold the grey tree frog, hyla versicolor. He also comes in bright green, because he has the ability to change colors.

These are about the nicest frogs you can have as pets. They tame fast. Mine would perch on my finger like a canary–their toes can curl, and also stick to slippery surfaces, like glass–and snap up mealworms I offered with the other hand.

I once had three of these; and because it was springtime, mating season, every night they used to line up on a stick and sing. The Tree Frog trio. They would sing all night long. And very loudly. So loudly, my housemates finally forced me to release the frogs back into the wild.

And that’s it for today from Mr. Nature.