Zoo’s Breeds Blue Poison Dart Frogs After Stopping Them Eating Each Other
The video shows vulnerable blue poison dart frog offspring after a zoo in Spain managed to successfully breed them recently by separating the surprisingly cannibalistic tadpoles.
The 10-hectare (25-acre) Bioparc Valencia zoo park, in the city of Valencia, Spain, boasted with their new azure-coloured residents native to the Sipaliwini Savanna, in southern Suriname, on Tuesday, 7th February.
Тhe young blue poison dart frog (Dendrobates azureus) individuals, whose name comes from their striking colour and their ability to secrete poisonous alkaloids from their glands, are reportedly adjusting well in their enclosure.
Sources claimed that the amphibian’s bright blue skin which gets darker around its limbs and stomach is intended to serve as a warning to potential attackers.
The zoo said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “This substance is a natural defence mechanism against potential predators, as it paralyses them and can even kill them.
“Curiously, this protective quality depends on feeding on ants and insects and in BIOPARC it is nullified by feeding on springtails, crickets and hydei flies.”
Zoo authorities claimed they faced quite a struggle during new frogs’ reproduction process because of the strict protocol for the animal’s survival.
The zoo added: “On the other hand, [the struggle came] due to the parameters and quality of the water which had to be with a low pH and high acidity.”
But what zookeepers reportedly found most difficult, was the carnivorous nature of the tadpoles which is why they kept them separate.
The zoo claimed: “Once they completed their metamorphosis into frogs, they were able to join the rest of the individuals of the species.”
Blue poison dart frogs are considered highly vulnerable in nature, because of both human activities (illegal collecting) and natural factors such as drought, due to their extremely small range and isolated populations.
Reports claim that they can become critically endangered or extinct in a very short period of time if these factors are not monitored.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPANISH NEWS