Poison Dart Frogs: Beware of the Bright Colored Frog

Visiting many zoos over the years, I have seen numerous colorful Poison Dart Frogs. It is hard to believe they can be one of the deadliest creatures on earth. For the sake of this article, they will be referred as Poison Dart Frogs even though they are known as Poison Arrow Frogs on occasion.

These ½ -2" brightly colorful frogs of Central and South America live in the rain forests near a water source. Generally, they will be found on the forest floor in the rain forest. They prefer to live in dark environments. During breeding season, Poison Dart Frogs spend most of their time in the canopy.

In the rain forests, there are about 170 species of Poison Dart Frogs. Some species have been found in modern times including the Blue Poison Dart Frog in 1968. The bright colors are generally effective in scaring off predators. Certain species of snakes and large lizards are among the main predators of the Poison Dart Frog. Even though, there poison is fatal to most other species including humans, there are a few species not affected by the poison.

The poison from the frog comes from its diet. In fact most captive Poison Dart Frogs are harmless in captivity. The poison comes from eating certain insects especially ants. The insects eat certain toxic plants and it is passed on to the frogs.

The poison affects the heart and can cause hallucinations in humans. In the case of the Yellow Golden Poison Dart Frog; humans don't have to worry about hallucinations. That is because this frog may be one of the deadliest creatures on earth and death is almost instant. The poison would be enough to kill ten humans.

The poison can't hurt humans by just touching the skin. If a person has a cut or put your hand in the mouth after touching then, the poison will result in a fatality. The Poison Dart Frog when they get scared or upset the back gets wet and scared which is the lethal venom. Some tribes in Columbia used the poison for the frogs in blowgun darts and arrows.

Researchers have developed a new pain killer as the result of Poison Dart Frogs. This new pain killer is 200 times more effective than morphine.