A n afternoon shower has drenched the rainforest surrounding Costa Rica’s Toro River A barely visible strawberry poison dart tadpole flops in a bead of water on a leaf Its father has been standing guard as the tadpole hatched from its egg No bigger than a paper clip with black legs and a brilliant red body the adult frog shimmers like a tiny ruby The frog squats down so that the tadpole can wriggle atop its back With its offspring firmly stuck FROGS 7
to its back the male frog climbs a tree followed by the tadpole’s mother The male drops the tadpole into a bromeliad a plant that holds enough standing water in its center vessel for the tadpole to survive The female frog then deposits an infertile egg into the plant food for the tadpole Their job done the frogs disappear into the foliage leaving their young to develop on its own in the forest 8 LIVING WILD
