The milk frog is the largest tree frog in Costa Rica, and we see them occasionally at the Firestone Center. It is a big frog, about 4 inches long, and has long legs and can jump with ease quite a long way.
This example was found on a building and actually needed to be moved for its safety given all the construction going on around here (new students dorms and such). I grabbed it and set it on a plant well away from trouble, and realized there was a great opportunity to demonstrate why it is called a milk frog.
Most any description of this frog will tell you to never handle them. When handled or distressed they emit copious amounts of a milky white secretion that is toxic and can give a burning rash or worse if you get it in your mouth or such. But for a project years ago I had to handle these frogs and found that I did not get the rash, and am capable of washing my hands well after handling, so no ill effects.
Thus I grabbed it from its less than optimal location and moved it, washed my hands (which took some time as the secretion is tough to get off), and returned to take a photograph of the frog showing it with the milky secretion for educational purposes. And here it is, a beautiful animal with amazing eyes and toxic milk quite visible.
This example was found on a building and actually needed to be moved for its safety given all the construction going on around here (new students dorms and such). I grabbed it and set it on a plant well away from trouble, and realized there was a great opportunity to demonstrate why it is called a milk frog.
Most any description of this frog will tell you to never handle them. When handled or distressed they emit copious amounts of a milky white secretion that is toxic and can give a burning rash or worse if you get it in your mouth or such. But for a project years ago I had to handle these frogs and found that I did not get the rash, and am capable of washing my hands well after handling, so no ill effects.
Thus I grabbed it from its less than optimal location and moved it, washed my hands (which took some time as the secretion is tough to get off), and returned to take a photograph of the frog showing it with the milky secretion for educational purposes. And here it is, a beautiful animal with amazing eyes and toxic milk quite visible.
Milk frog (Phrynohyas venulosa) showing the milky white toxic secretion it is named for
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