Frozen Frogs

It’s starting to get chilly outside, and while some animals have thick layers of fur to keep them warm, other animals, like the frogs featured in the latest issue of Zootles, need to find other ways to stay warm. So how do cold-blooded, thin-skinned frogs keep warm in the winter?
Like many other animals, frogs slow down their bodies and hibernate during the winter. Frogs that spend most of the time in the water nestle into the mud at the bottom of their pond.They don’t bury themselves completely, though– they still need to be able to access the oxygen-rich water. Meanwhile, land-dwelling frogs burrow into the ground beneath the frost line. Some of them even have an “anti-freeze” substance in their bodies that prevents their organs from being damaged. Come spring, their bodies thaw, and they return to their normal, active lives.

Photo contributed to Wikimedia Commons by Eugene van der Pijll.

Fabulously Colored Frogs

From the truly weird and to the truly wonderful, both the world and this month’s issue of Zootles Frogs are full of thousands of kinds of frogs. Because they come from many different environments and habitats around the planet, each kind of frog has its own unique appearance. For example, some frogs come in bright colors like red, yellow, blue, and green in order to warn other animals about their poisonous skin. Other frogs have dull colors that match their surroundings and allow them to blend in and hide from predators in their habitat.

Scientists like Dr. Tyrone Hayes have also discovered something about the color of frogs that can even help humans. He saw that many of the frogs around him that were usually green had turned red and spotted instead. This observation lead Dr. Hayes to investigate and find out that the frogs were living in dirty water that made them sick. He then figured out that frogs whose skin changes color in dirty water can help people tell whether or not certain water is safe to drink, even if it looks cleaner than it actually is.

Life as a Frog

The new hoppin’ topic of this month’s Zootles issue is the fabulous frog. Frogs are known for making loud croaking noises using the balloon-like vocal sac under their chin, or leaping around on their powerful hind legs. Meanwhile, their webbed feet and sticky toes and fingers make frogs star swimmers and climbers. Frogs are also famous for their long, sticky tongues that make catching flies and other insects for dinner so easy and quick.

Another big part of being a frog is growing up from an egg to a grown up frog in a remarkable change called metamorphosis. After spending some time growing inside its egg, a tadpole with a head, body, and tail breaks out and swims away, eating plants and using its gills to breathe underwater. Eventually, the tadpole’s tail will disappear and it will grow four legs. Finally, its gills will be replaced with lungs that allow it to breathe air above the surface of the water. It is after this step in metamorphosis that a tadpole has at last become a frog and will leave the water to live on land. Frogs still need water however, so they live near ponds and streams.