1 00:00:32,142 --> 00:00:33,780 (CROAKING) 2 00:00:46,742 --> 00:00:51,054 Amphibians were the first backboned animals to leave the water 3 00:00:51,142 --> 00:00:53,133 and colonise the land. 4 00:00:53,222 --> 00:00:56,658 Today there are some 6000 species of them 5 00:00:56,742 --> 00:00:59,302 and new ones are constantly being discovered. 6 00:00:59,382 --> 00:01:01,134 We may not often see them 7 00:01:01,222 --> 00:01:05,056 but during the breeding season we certainly hear them. 8 00:01:05,142 --> 00:01:06,655 (CROAKING) 9 00:01:15,462 --> 00:01:20,456 Choruses like this ensure that we are well aware of frogs and toads. 10 00:01:28,462 --> 00:01:33,217 But there are others kinds of amphibians that dont make themselves so obvious. 11 00:01:33,982 --> 00:01:37,531 Newts and their close relatives the salamanders. 12 00:01:39,102 --> 00:01:42,617 And even ones that have completely lost their legs. 13 00:01:44,782 --> 00:01:47,501 But all amphibians have one thing in common 14 00:01:47,582 --> 00:01:49,300 a moist skin. 15 00:01:49,382 --> 00:01:51,338 If that dries they die. 16 00:01:52,702 --> 00:01:55,899 And dealing with that danger dominates their lives. 17 00:01:55,982 --> 00:01:58,894 How are they to survive away from water? 18 00:02:08,462 --> 00:02:10,293 Four hundred million years ago 19 00:02:10,382 --> 00:02:13,692 the only backboned animals on the Earth were fish. 20 00:02:13,782 --> 00:02:17,616 The land was empty except for insects and other invertebrates. 21 00:02:17,942 --> 00:02:22,094 But then one of those fish managed to haul itself out of the water 22 00:02:22,342 --> 00:02:24,173 and up on to the land. 23 00:02:24,542 --> 00:02:27,056 You can see what sort of creature that might have been 24 00:02:27,142 --> 00:02:29,702 if you go to north-east Australia. 25 00:02:29,902 --> 00:02:32,700 There the rivers only too often dry up. 26 00:02:35,902 --> 00:02:40,020 But one remarkable ancient and extraordinary fish 27 00:02:40,582 --> 00:02:42,140 manages to survive 28 00:02:42,222 --> 00:02:45,578 because it has a rare talent for a fish. 29 00:02:46,542 --> 00:02:48,931 It has lungs and can breathe air. 30 00:02:49,582 --> 00:02:52,301 And theres one at my feet right here. 31 00:02:53,822 --> 00:02:57,531 Fossils just like it date from precisely the time 32 00:02:57,622 --> 00:03:01,012 when the great invasion of the land took place. 33 00:03:01,102 --> 00:03:04,697 On occasion it rises to the surface and gulps air. 34 00:03:06,982 --> 00:03:10,258 The air goes into a pouch that opens from its throat 35 00:03:10,342 --> 00:03:12,981 where the oxygen from it is absorbed. 36 00:03:14,182 --> 00:03:16,093 This is a lungfish. 37 00:03:19,982 --> 00:03:25,739 It punts itself along the river bottom using two pairs of fleshy muscular fins 38 00:03:25,822 --> 00:03:29,212 placed low on its body just like simple legs. 39 00:03:32,662 --> 00:03:38,020 Sometime around 360 million years ago one of its remote ancestors 40 00:03:38,102 --> 00:03:43,734 used such limb-like fins to push itself up onto the land. 41 00:03:48,902 --> 00:03:53,339 That pioneer may have looked much like this strange monster 42 00:03:53,662 --> 00:03:56,130 that haunts the waterways of Japan. 43 00:03:59,862 --> 00:04:04,777 Its the giant salamander the biggest of all living amphibians 44 00:04:04,862 --> 00:04:07,660 that grows to a metre or more in length. 45 00:04:12,862 --> 00:04:16,138 It too has lungs and breathes air 46 00:04:17,102 --> 00:04:20,174 but even so it almost never leaves the water. 47 00:04:22,342 --> 00:04:27,291 Males make their dens in both natural and man-made retreats in the river banks 48 00:04:27,622 --> 00:04:30,375 and defend them against all other males. 49 00:04:31,982 --> 00:04:35,816 A newcomer arrives looking for a breeding den of his own. 50 00:05:11,662 --> 00:05:13,300 It wont be here. 51 00:05:20,462 --> 00:05:24,375 The resident male has good reason to be so defensive. 52 00:05:27,062 --> 00:05:30,418 He is guarding a batch of eggs left by a female 53 00:05:30,502 --> 00:05:33,016 who visited him a few days earlier. 54 00:05:33,902 --> 00:05:37,451 Like fish eggs amphibian eggs have no protective shell. 55 00:05:37,542 --> 00:05:40,010 They can only develop in moisture of some kind 56 00:05:40,102 --> 00:05:42,696 and amphibians no matter where they live 57 00:05:42,782 --> 00:05:45,501 must find ways to provide that. 58 00:05:48,462 --> 00:05:52,011 The alpine newt lives on land for about half the year 59 00:05:52,102 --> 00:05:54,252 hunting for slugs and worms. 60 00:05:55,542 --> 00:05:58,818 In winter they lie dormant beneath the snow 61 00:05:58,902 --> 00:06:02,019 but come the spring they get the urge to breed. 62 00:06:06,502 --> 00:06:10,381 A female is swollen with eggs and needs to lay 63 00:06:10,462 --> 00:06:12,771 so she has to go back to water. 64 00:06:20,462 --> 00:06:22,930 And there a male is awaiting her. 65 00:06:25,302 --> 00:06:27,770 He has already developed his breeding colours 66 00:06:27,862 --> 00:06:31,616 and knows how to flaunt them to impress her. 67 00:06:35,062 --> 00:06:38,418 He wafts a pheromone a sexual stimulant 68 00:06:38,582 --> 00:06:41,096 towards her with beats of his tail. 69 00:06:54,302 --> 00:06:57,021 She senses it through her nostrils. 70 00:07:07,462 --> 00:07:09,532 She tastes it in her mouth. 71 00:07:16,102 --> 00:07:20,300 Having caught her interest he turns and moves away from her. 72 00:07:22,622 --> 00:07:27,776 His genital opening is greatly swollen and from it comes a small white capsule. 73 00:07:28,302 --> 00:07:30,452 It is a packet of sperm. 74 00:07:34,622 --> 00:07:38,740 The female led by the male walks directly over it. 75 00:07:40,542 --> 00:07:42,612 He stops and so does she 76 00:07:42,702 --> 00:07:47,253 with her genital opening exactly above the sperm packet 77 00:07:47,342 --> 00:07:49,139 and she picks it up. 78 00:07:55,262 --> 00:07:57,173 So as in many fish 79 00:07:57,262 --> 00:08:00,459 mating occurs with little or no physical contact 80 00:08:00,542 --> 00:08:02,260 between the two partners. 81 00:08:04,982 --> 00:08:08,019 Two or three days later she begins to lay. 82 00:08:13,822 --> 00:08:17,258 Each of her eggs is deposited individually. 83 00:08:29,342 --> 00:08:30,661 As an egg emerges 84 00:08:30,742 --> 00:08:33,734 she wraps the leaf around it with her hind legs 85 00:08:33,822 --> 00:08:36,780 and then holds it there while the edges bond. 86 00:08:38,462 --> 00:08:42,978 She will lay several eggs a day for week after week until eventually 87 00:08:43,062 --> 00:08:46,020 she may have produced several hundred. 88 00:08:51,342 --> 00:08:53,936 But all this has to be done in water. 89 00:08:54,422 --> 00:08:58,051 She has still not broken her link with her fishy ancestry. 90 00:09:01,622 --> 00:09:04,898 In North America in the eastern half of the country 91 00:09:04,982 --> 00:09:08,895 there are many kinds of small salamanders only a few inches long 92 00:09:08,982 --> 00:09:12,816 that have taken one further step away from the aquatic life. 93 00:09:15,582 --> 00:09:18,779 In spring the woodlands are drenched in rain 94 00:09:19,262 --> 00:09:21,332 and suddenly in response 95 00:09:21,422 --> 00:09:24,619 an amphibian army appears among the leaf litter. 96 00:09:27,342 --> 00:09:29,139 Marbled salamanders. 97 00:09:33,542 --> 00:09:37,535 First to emerge are the males. Theyre in search of females. 98 00:09:39,382 --> 00:09:42,419 They have spent the winter deep in the damp leaf litter 99 00:09:42,502 --> 00:09:45,255 breathing by absorbing oxygen from the air 100 00:09:45,342 --> 00:09:47,139 through their moist skins. 101 00:09:47,222 --> 00:09:50,020 For them the land is truly home. 102 00:09:50,102 --> 00:09:53,253 If they were submerged in water for any length of time 103 00:09:53,342 --> 00:09:55,219 they might well drown. 104 00:09:57,622 --> 00:10:01,171 Nonetheless their courtship techniques are much the same 105 00:10:01,262 --> 00:10:03,730 as those used in water by newts. 106 00:10:08,102 --> 00:10:11,538 The males produce pheromones that excite the females. 107 00:10:19,502 --> 00:10:22,972 They deposit capsules of sperm on the damp ground 108 00:10:24,502 --> 00:10:27,858 and the females crawl over them and take them in. 109 00:10:30,302 --> 00:10:34,500 In due course each female lays her soft-skinned eggs on the ground 110 00:10:34,582 --> 00:10:37,050 and stays beside them on guard. 111 00:10:39,182 --> 00:10:42,458 Here its damp enough to prevent her eggs from drying 112 00:10:42,542 --> 00:10:45,295 and theyre already developing rapidly. 113 00:10:52,222 --> 00:10:56,693 Eventually the continuing rains flood the woodland floor. 114 00:10:58,342 --> 00:11:03,097 But now the females needs and those of her eggs are exactly opposite. 115 00:11:03,662 --> 00:11:06,301 They will need water in order to breathe 116 00:11:06,382 --> 00:11:09,897 but she could drown in it so she has to leave. 117 00:11:15,822 --> 00:11:19,292 The young inside their capsules are developing into creatures 118 00:11:19,382 --> 00:11:21,418 fundamentally different from their parents. 119 00:11:21,502 --> 00:11:24,380 A form that is characteristic of amphibians. 120 00:11:24,782 --> 00:11:26,932 They are becoming tadpoles. 121 00:11:28,982 --> 00:11:32,452 They swim free equipped with feathery gills 122 00:11:32,542 --> 00:11:35,215 that enable them to extract oxygen from the water. 123 00:11:35,302 --> 00:11:37,816 They are truly aquatic creatures. 124 00:11:39,982 --> 00:11:42,815 But they have front legs as well as gills. 125 00:11:50,302 --> 00:11:54,295 And within days they develop back legs as well. 126 00:11:57,702 --> 00:12:00,170 As time passes they grow stronger. 127 00:12:00,382 --> 00:12:03,419 Their gills wither and disappear and at last 128 00:12:03,502 --> 00:12:05,732 they are miniature versions of their parents 129 00:12:05,822 --> 00:12:07,858 and are ready to leave the water forever 130 00:12:07,942 --> 00:12:10,740 and to start on their land-living lives. 131 00:12:13,302 --> 00:12:18,535 But what tempted those ancient fish to leave the water in the first place? 132 00:12:19,782 --> 00:12:20,931 Food. 133 00:12:21,822 --> 00:12:24,211 When the first amphibians moved out of water 134 00:12:24,302 --> 00:12:27,180 the land was already swarming with insects. 135 00:12:28,222 --> 00:12:30,975 And the amphibians have evolved a special weapon 136 00:12:31,062 --> 00:12:32,893 with which to catch them. 137 00:12:41,102 --> 00:12:45,971 Salamanders however have not yet developed the athleticism needed 138 00:12:46,062 --> 00:12:49,179 for a high-speed chase and a lightning pounce. 139 00:12:49,262 --> 00:12:52,811 Their hunts are rather solemn sedate affairs. 140 00:13:14,382 --> 00:13:17,818 A simple contraction of the muscles surrounding the tongue 141 00:13:17,902 --> 00:13:20,700 is all thats needed to shoot it forward. 142 00:13:25,422 --> 00:13:27,333 Some salamanders have a tongue 143 00:13:27,422 --> 00:13:30,300 that is about three-quarters the length of the body 144 00:13:30,382 --> 00:13:34,057 but most species have to get pretty close to their prey 145 00:13:34,142 --> 00:13:35,575 if they are to catch it. 146 00:13:42,462 --> 00:13:46,171 Although the adult marbled salamander lives entirely on land 147 00:13:46,262 --> 00:13:50,096 it nonetheless needed water at the very beginning of its life. 148 00:13:50,342 --> 00:13:53,573 But there are other species of salamander in North America 149 00:13:53,662 --> 00:13:58,213 that have managed to break even that link with their distant aquatic past. 150 00:14:05,182 --> 00:14:07,138 This is a gold mine. 151 00:14:07,822 --> 00:14:10,177 The people who dug it found nothing 152 00:14:10,262 --> 00:14:15,734 but biologists who came later found gold of their own special kind. 153 00:14:24,902 --> 00:14:29,214 They discovered a colony of a species called the slimy salamander 154 00:14:29,302 --> 00:14:30,735 that could be properly observed 155 00:14:30,822 --> 00:14:34,451 throughout the summer when normally they are hidden in the leaf litter. 156 00:14:34,542 --> 00:14:36,021 They were all females 157 00:14:36,102 --> 00:14:39,651 and their behaviour proved to be very surprising indeed. 158 00:14:46,182 --> 00:14:51,210 These salamanders come down in early summer in about June 159 00:14:51,302 --> 00:14:56,740 and will travel several hundred metres down along this mine shaft 160 00:14:57,422 --> 00:15:00,141 to exactly the same ledge 161 00:15:00,222 --> 00:15:03,737 within an inch or so that they used the previous year. 162 00:15:04,342 --> 00:15:08,699 And they have been seen doing that for at least five or six years. 163 00:15:09,702 --> 00:15:11,454 And they dont eat. 164 00:15:11,542 --> 00:15:15,330 They will stay down here for six or seven months 165 00:15:15,422 --> 00:15:18,459 sustained only by the food reserves 166 00:15:18,542 --> 00:15:21,534 that theyve accumulated in their fat tails. 167 00:15:23,822 --> 00:15:24,857 Down here 168 00:15:24,942 --> 00:15:29,015 there is permanent moisture however hot and dry it gets outside. 169 00:15:32,342 --> 00:15:35,140 The salamanders clearly prefer to cluster together 170 00:15:35,222 --> 00:15:36,701 close to one another 171 00:15:36,782 --> 00:15:39,580 for the rock walls of the mine shaft elsewhere 172 00:15:39,662 --> 00:15:41,618 are totally uninhabited. 173 00:15:42,862 --> 00:15:48,732 However this open plan way of life while its clearly very successful 174 00:15:48,822 --> 00:15:51,700 nonetheless comes at a price. 175 00:15:53,022 --> 00:15:56,253 Some of the females here are up to no good. 176 00:15:57,222 --> 00:16:00,612 They failed to fatten up enough during the spring 177 00:16:00,702 --> 00:16:03,899 and theyre hungry and in search of a good meal. 178 00:16:04,862 --> 00:16:09,299 And the eggs and young of the other salamanders 179 00:16:10,062 --> 00:16:11,893 will do very well. 180 00:16:13,462 --> 00:16:16,101 To see exactly what these creatures are doing 181 00:16:16,182 --> 00:16:20,937 we need to turn off our torches and turn on the infrared camera. 182 00:16:28,742 --> 00:16:32,018 Here comes one of those marauding females. 183 00:16:42,742 --> 00:16:46,530 She must have located this mother guarding her eggs by smell 184 00:16:46,742 --> 00:16:49,734 for all this is going on in total darkness. 185 00:17:09,262 --> 00:17:14,541 So some amphibians when needs be are neither sluggish insensitive 186 00:17:14,622 --> 00:17:16,931 nor lacking in maternal concern. 187 00:17:22,222 --> 00:17:24,213 And mother wins the day. 188 00:17:27,862 --> 00:17:30,251 The salamanders need to keep moist 189 00:17:30,342 --> 00:17:32,936 means that they seldom come out into the open 190 00:17:33,022 --> 00:17:36,537 but find their prey by pushing through the leaf litter. 191 00:17:36,742 --> 00:17:39,256 And to do that it helps to be slim. 192 00:17:40,502 --> 00:17:41,855 Very slim. 193 00:17:42,622 --> 00:17:45,659 Legs are less in the way if theyre small. 194 00:17:47,782 --> 00:17:50,933 And one great group of burrowing amphibians 195 00:17:51,022 --> 00:17:53,377 has lost its legs altogether. 196 00:17:59,582 --> 00:18:02,938 You might think that this was a giant earthworm 197 00:18:03,342 --> 00:18:04,616 but if you picked it up 198 00:18:04,702 --> 00:18:08,934 you would immediately realise it has got a strong firm backbone. 199 00:18:09,022 --> 00:18:10,774 Its a caecilian. 200 00:18:12,542 --> 00:18:16,376 Caecilians are found in almost all rainforests. 201 00:18:16,982 --> 00:18:18,495 But they are seldom seen 202 00:18:18,582 --> 00:18:21,813 for they spend nearly all their lives underground. 203 00:18:23,622 --> 00:18:26,090 The female having produced her young 204 00:18:26,182 --> 00:18:29,140 stays in her nest chamber to protect them. 205 00:18:35,222 --> 00:18:37,338 Caecilian eyes are rudimentary. 206 00:18:37,422 --> 00:18:40,300 Theyre covered in skin and scarcely function. 207 00:18:40,382 --> 00:18:42,338 In the darkness underground however 208 00:18:42,422 --> 00:18:44,856 the animals have no need for them. 209 00:18:48,062 --> 00:18:51,850 The young enthusiastically lick a secretion from a gland 210 00:18:51,942 --> 00:18:53,614 at the end of their mothers tail 211 00:18:53,702 --> 00:18:55,852 and their constant hunger seems to be 212 00:18:55,942 --> 00:18:59,571 the factor that keeps this little blind family together. 213 00:19:08,662 --> 00:19:13,975 In a single week the young incredibly increase their weight by 1 0 times 214 00:19:14,102 --> 00:19:17,060 apparently just from drinking her secretion. 215 00:19:17,382 --> 00:19:19,816 But could that be their only food? 216 00:19:21,542 --> 00:19:22,531 As we filmed 217 00:19:22,622 --> 00:19:26,331 one of the youngsters revealed a clue to their rapid growth. 218 00:19:26,422 --> 00:19:27,741 It yawned. 219 00:19:30,342 --> 00:19:33,459 It already had hooked teeth like a baby shark. 220 00:19:34,102 --> 00:19:38,254 It surely doesnt need these if its going to do nothing but drinking. 221 00:19:38,342 --> 00:19:40,731 Could it be feeding on something else? 222 00:19:45,182 --> 00:19:49,778 A few hours later our cameras for the first time revealed the answer. 223 00:19:51,182 --> 00:19:53,457 There was a sudden frenzy of activity. 224 00:19:53,542 --> 00:19:57,091 The babies started swarming all over their mother. 225 00:20:10,582 --> 00:20:14,495 They were tearing at her flanks ripping off segments of her skin. 226 00:20:14,582 --> 00:20:17,176 Skin that proved to be full of fat. 227 00:20:27,502 --> 00:20:31,461 It turned out that she regrew her skin every three days 228 00:20:31,542 --> 00:20:34,739 to provide her young with another nourishing meal. 229 00:20:46,182 --> 00:20:50,573 Blind elongated and legless caecilians maybe 230 00:20:50,662 --> 00:20:53,813 but simple inoffensive earthworms they are not. 231 00:20:56,342 --> 00:21:00,255 The most numerous and successful of all amphibians however 232 00:21:00,342 --> 00:21:04,540 have kept their legs and developed them spectacularly. 233 00:21:29,622 --> 00:21:31,453 Some are walkers. 234 00:21:39,182 --> 00:21:41,013 Others are climbers. 235 00:21:51,702 --> 00:21:53,499 There are hoppers. 236 00:21:58,022 --> 00:21:59,819 There are even gliders 237 00:21:59,902 --> 00:22:03,212 who use the membranes on their feet like parachutes. 238 00:22:19,982 --> 00:22:24,260 If their skin is very moist we call these creatures frogs. 239 00:22:24,742 --> 00:22:27,381 If its less so we call them toads. 240 00:22:27,982 --> 00:22:30,655 But they all belong to the same group. 241 00:22:39,382 --> 00:22:45,332 There are some 2200 different kinds of frogs and toads 242 00:22:45,422 --> 00:22:46,901 in the world today 243 00:22:46,982 --> 00:22:50,736 and here in the leaf litter in this Madagascan forest 244 00:22:51,262 --> 00:22:53,492 is the tiniest of them all. 245 00:22:54,582 --> 00:22:58,814 This is fully adult and in its tiny body 246 00:22:58,902 --> 00:23:01,416 which is only a centimetre long 247 00:23:02,142 --> 00:23:07,739 is packed a beating heart a skeleton a gut a brain. 248 00:23:08,502 --> 00:23:12,336 Its a miracle of miniaturisation. 249 00:23:13,422 --> 00:23:18,177 And this basic body plan not only comes in all sizes 250 00:23:18,942 --> 00:23:22,901 but many different shapes which has enabled frogs and toads 251 00:23:22,982 --> 00:23:26,611 to colonise all kinds of different environments. 252 00:23:29,542 --> 00:23:34,252 Out of water frogs found a new way to communicate with one another. 253 00:23:35,542 --> 00:23:36,975 (CROAKING) 254 00:23:48,662 --> 00:23:51,256 Amphibian lungs are comparatively feeble 255 00:23:51,342 --> 00:23:55,176 so frogs amplify their calls with cheek or throat pouches 256 00:23:55,262 --> 00:23:57,253 which act as resonators. 257 00:24:00,302 --> 00:24:05,092 The call of a frog in this South African pool can be heard over a mile away. 258 00:24:05,942 --> 00:24:07,773 (HIGH-PITCHED CROAKING) 259 00:24:08,702 --> 00:24:13,696 Its the painted reed frog the loudest caller of all for his size. 260 00:24:13,782 --> 00:24:15,215 (CROAKING) 261 00:24:27,342 --> 00:24:32,211 But a female is not only impressed by the loudness of a males call 262 00:24:35,022 --> 00:24:40,221 she also judges him by how frequently he manages to make that call. 263 00:24:40,542 --> 00:24:42,578 (CROAKING RAPIDLY) 264 00:24:51,502 --> 00:24:54,255 Calling is a very demanding activity 265 00:24:54,342 --> 00:24:59,132 requiring a male to increase his energy consumption by about 20 times. 266 00:24:59,222 --> 00:25:02,180 So in picking the loudest and fastest caller 267 00:25:02,462 --> 00:25:06,421 the female is also selecting the fittest and most vigorous male 268 00:25:06,502 --> 00:25:08,732 as the father of her offspring. 269 00:25:18,942 --> 00:25:20,421 Hes the one. 270 00:25:27,102 --> 00:25:28,694 Success. 271 00:25:28,782 --> 00:25:31,057 And silence for a few minutes. 272 00:25:37,342 --> 00:25:42,291 In some circumstances however calls need reinforcing with gestures. 273 00:25:47,062 --> 00:25:52,216 The sound of rushing water could drown out the calls of a frog. 274 00:25:52,862 --> 00:25:58,539 However here in this stream in Panama theres a species living alongside 275 00:25:58,622 --> 00:26:01,819 that has developed a novel way of dealing with that problem. 276 00:26:04,422 --> 00:26:07,220 The rare and wonderful golden frog. 277 00:26:07,302 --> 00:26:10,021 It does have a voice but its not loud. 278 00:26:15,022 --> 00:26:16,455 (CROAKS) 279 00:26:18,502 --> 00:26:22,575 Individual males set up their territories beside the river 280 00:26:22,662 --> 00:26:25,415 and then wait for females to turn up. 281 00:26:25,502 --> 00:26:29,290 And since good positions in the territory are not common 282 00:26:29,382 --> 00:26:32,340 they may have to hold them against intruders. 283 00:26:34,342 --> 00:26:36,060 And here one comes. 284 00:26:38,262 --> 00:26:43,575 just in case his call is inaudible he makes his message clear with a wave. 285 00:26:49,982 --> 00:26:52,177 And his rival waves back. 286 00:26:54,862 --> 00:26:58,332 He repeats his message so theres no misunderstanding. 287 00:27:09,662 --> 00:27:11,937 But rival is not deterred. 288 00:27:13,382 --> 00:27:16,135 Well that makes things perfectly clear. 289 00:27:19,942 --> 00:27:23,981 Another arrives. Perhaps at last this is a female. 290 00:27:38,742 --> 00:27:40,858 No its another male. 291 00:27:40,942 --> 00:27:43,820 So there will have to be a wrestling match. 292 00:27:44,422 --> 00:27:45,696 (CROAKS) 293 00:27:48,622 --> 00:27:50,499 That should teach him. 294 00:27:52,302 --> 00:27:56,500 And his rival signals submission by keeping his head down. 295 00:28:02,462 --> 00:28:03,781 (CROAKS) 296 00:28:23,782 --> 00:28:26,580 Now where are those females? 297 00:28:30,262 --> 00:28:31,900 And here she is. 298 00:28:33,142 --> 00:28:37,021 She is pure unblemished gold and much bigger than he is. 299 00:28:46,622 --> 00:28:50,217 While he is fully occupied another challenger arrives. 300 00:28:55,702 --> 00:28:57,340 Since hes already in position 301 00:28:57,422 --> 00:29:00,459 there is no point in breaking away for another wrestling match 302 00:29:00,542 --> 00:29:02,294 so he hangs on. 303 00:29:08,702 --> 00:29:12,092 The golden frog has a powerful poison in its skin 304 00:29:12,182 --> 00:29:14,776 so it can afford to be conspicuous. 305 00:29:14,862 --> 00:29:18,491 But most frogs find safety in camouflage. 306 00:29:23,262 --> 00:29:26,971 This is a South American red-eyed tree frog 307 00:29:27,062 --> 00:29:30,657 a close match for the leaves on which it habitually sits. 308 00:29:34,542 --> 00:29:37,340 The eggs are not very conspicuous either 309 00:29:37,422 --> 00:29:41,210 just little blobs in transparent jelly. 310 00:29:41,302 --> 00:29:43,975 And theyre always laid over water. 311 00:29:48,022 --> 00:29:50,058 They develop very rapidly. 312 00:30:11,342 --> 00:30:15,096 In less than a week they have become recognisable tadpoles 313 00:30:15,182 --> 00:30:17,173 almost ready for freedom. 314 00:30:17,902 --> 00:30:19,938 Then the jelly liquefies 315 00:30:20,022 --> 00:30:22,172 and they simply drop into the water beneath. 316 00:30:25,182 --> 00:30:28,333 But some dont survive long enough to do so. 317 00:30:33,062 --> 00:30:35,098 Wasps raid the cluster 318 00:30:35,182 --> 00:30:38,379 and carry off the unhatched tadpoles to feed their young. 319 00:31:08,902 --> 00:31:11,814 But the tadpoles are not entirely helpless. 320 00:31:13,902 --> 00:31:18,020 By the time they are five days old they know when they are under attack. 321 00:31:18,102 --> 00:31:20,935 And whats more they can do something about it. 322 00:31:23,862 --> 00:31:25,011 There. 323 00:31:26,462 --> 00:31:29,659 Quick wriggle and the tadpole drops to safety. 324 00:31:38,422 --> 00:31:41,414 The alarm spreads quickly through the whole cluster 325 00:31:41,502 --> 00:31:43,174 and they all take a dive. 326 00:31:55,782 --> 00:31:59,218 Their tails are not yet fully developed but they can swim well enough 327 00:31:59,302 --> 00:32:02,738 to take refuge beneath the leaves of the water plants. 328 00:32:25,982 --> 00:32:29,657 So if theres a choice between being carried off by a wasp 329 00:32:29,742 --> 00:32:32,893 and taking an early bath theres no competition. 330 00:32:35,622 --> 00:32:38,580 But not all frogs abandon their young. 331 00:32:38,662 --> 00:32:41,620 If you are big enough you can stay and defend them. 332 00:32:41,702 --> 00:32:45,775 And the male giant African bullfrog is as big as a football. 333 00:32:48,062 --> 00:32:50,530 His pool which formed during the rainy season 334 00:32:50,622 --> 00:32:53,455 lies near the margin of a much bigger pond. 335 00:32:57,302 --> 00:32:59,736 The nursery pool was a good place to lay 336 00:32:59,822 --> 00:33:04,020 for it had none of the predators that abound in the bigger permanent pond. 337 00:33:05,342 --> 00:33:10,814 But as the dry season warms up that smaller pool begins to evaporate. 338 00:33:13,302 --> 00:33:16,180 The tadpoles are now in real danger. 339 00:33:17,622 --> 00:33:19,419 Father takes action. 340 00:33:22,622 --> 00:33:24,977 He starts to dig a canal 341 00:33:25,062 --> 00:33:29,533 to enable his endangered tadpoles to reach the deeper pond nearby. 342 00:33:38,542 --> 00:33:42,251 It will be touch and go but if they can only get to the bigger pond 343 00:33:42,342 --> 00:33:46,096 they are now vigorous enough to have a reasonable chance of survival. 344 00:33:52,822 --> 00:33:54,141 Breakthrough. 345 00:34:02,862 --> 00:34:04,932 And father leads the way. 346 00:34:19,222 --> 00:34:23,977 In the rain forests of South America the daily rains create a multitude 347 00:34:24,062 --> 00:34:27,213 of tiny pools in the centre of many plants. 348 00:34:28,822 --> 00:34:33,896 This tiny poison-arrow frog is carrying his tadpole pig-a-back. 349 00:34:33,982 --> 00:34:35,301 It hatched on a leaf 350 00:34:35,382 --> 00:34:38,419 and now hes taking it to a pool in a bromeliad 351 00:34:38,502 --> 00:34:40,174 high up in the branches. 352 00:34:40,982 --> 00:34:42,813 The tadpole wriggles off. 353 00:34:44,342 --> 00:34:49,655 He may have half a dozen babies each of which he puts into its own tiny pool. 354 00:34:58,382 --> 00:35:01,101 He makes regular tours of all his nurseries 355 00:35:01,182 --> 00:35:03,616 checking on his tadpoles welfare. 356 00:35:12,262 --> 00:35:16,540 This youngster is hungry and tells him so by nibbling his legs 357 00:35:16,622 --> 00:35:18,931 and vibrating against his body. 358 00:35:24,422 --> 00:35:28,574 But the male cant feed the tadpole himself. He needs help. 359 00:35:38,862 --> 00:35:41,012 He has to find a female. 360 00:35:43,582 --> 00:35:45,220 (CROAKING) 361 00:35:50,022 --> 00:35:51,501 There she is. 362 00:35:56,982 --> 00:35:58,540 He calls. 363 00:35:59,542 --> 00:36:00,895 (CROAKING) 364 00:36:08,302 --> 00:36:09,894 And she follows. 365 00:36:16,462 --> 00:36:21,661 He has to lead for only he knows exactly where he deposited each tadpole. 366 00:36:24,422 --> 00:36:26,982 This one is now very hungry indeed. 367 00:36:32,342 --> 00:36:34,981 He calls to the female encouragingly. 368 00:36:35,182 --> 00:36:36,661 (CROAKING) 369 00:36:40,422 --> 00:36:44,017 She jumps in perhaps to assess the situation. 370 00:36:47,942 --> 00:36:52,936 Out she comes without having done whats required so he keeps calling. 371 00:36:53,422 --> 00:36:54,457 (CONTINUES CROAKING) 372 00:36:54,542 --> 00:36:56,931 In she goes a second time. 373 00:36:57,022 --> 00:37:02,892 This time she produces food for the hungry tadpole an infertile egg. 374 00:37:07,662 --> 00:37:09,732 There. 375 00:37:14,142 --> 00:37:17,771 Out she comes and mother and father embrace. 376 00:37:30,222 --> 00:37:32,292 Baby has its dinner. 377 00:37:43,742 --> 00:37:48,372 Australia in the southeast has temperate rainforests. 378 00:37:50,102 --> 00:37:52,980 A cluster of frogs eggs on the damp ground. 379 00:37:53,662 --> 00:37:57,780 When these hatch the tadpoles will also need a moist nursery. 380 00:37:58,902 --> 00:38:01,735 Father a marsupial frog is on guard. 381 00:38:03,102 --> 00:38:05,297 The eggs are developing fast. 382 00:38:10,622 --> 00:38:13,261 The male has to keep a careful eye on them 383 00:38:13,342 --> 00:38:17,540 for he must be close beside them at the very moment when they hatch. 384 00:38:25,422 --> 00:38:30,018 Its going to be a long wait at least 1 1 days. 385 00:38:41,822 --> 00:38:45,212 He seems to have decided that the crucial moment has arrived 386 00:38:45,302 --> 00:38:47,896 and lowers himself onto the eggs. 387 00:38:53,502 --> 00:38:56,938 As he does so the tough egg membranes liquefy 388 00:38:57,022 --> 00:38:59,092 and the young wriggle free. 389 00:39:00,022 --> 00:39:03,617 He has two pouches in his skin one on each hip 390 00:39:03,702 --> 00:39:07,012 and the tadpoles start to squirm into them. 391 00:39:16,582 --> 00:39:19,858 Competition between the tadpoles is intense 392 00:39:19,942 --> 00:39:24,015 for there are more of them than he can accommodate in his pouches. 393 00:39:49,102 --> 00:39:53,095 At last hes taken on board as many as he can manage. 394 00:39:54,342 --> 00:39:57,857 He will now look after them for up to six weeks. 395 00:40:02,822 --> 00:40:06,576 The young remain in his pouches continuing their development 396 00:40:06,662 --> 00:40:10,416 fuelled by the remains of the yolk in their infant stomachs. 397 00:40:16,262 --> 00:40:19,971 And then one night his behaviour changes. 398 00:40:21,822 --> 00:40:23,813 His flanks are rippling. 399 00:40:33,342 --> 00:40:36,220 The first of his young is emerging. 400 00:41:10,942 --> 00:41:16,539 The profound transformation that converted a tadpole into this young frog 401 00:41:16,622 --> 00:41:20,740 took place entirely within its fathers moist pouch. 402 00:41:30,182 --> 00:41:33,219 The parched bush country of Southern Africa. 403 00:41:33,302 --> 00:41:37,853 Here it rains only twice a year and then only briefly. 404 00:41:41,622 --> 00:41:46,252 But when it does the ground in places erupts. 405 00:41:54,382 --> 00:41:57,260 Rain frogs as they are aptly called 406 00:41:57,342 --> 00:42:01,017 have been waiting for months below ground for this moment. 407 00:42:05,302 --> 00:42:08,772 After starving for so long they are keen to feed. 408 00:42:39,862 --> 00:42:43,696 As darkness falls the males begin to call. 409 00:42:58,782 --> 00:43:01,455 Females are fat with eggs. 410 00:43:09,942 --> 00:43:14,811 The males are so much smaller that they cant embrace a female. 411 00:43:14,902 --> 00:43:18,133 So they produce glue from glands on their underside 412 00:43:18,222 --> 00:43:21,180 and stick themselves to their partners back. 413 00:43:23,542 --> 00:43:27,535 But sometimes that only results in a chain of enthusiastic 414 00:43:27,622 --> 00:43:31,137 but undiscriminating males stuck to one another. 415 00:43:39,222 --> 00:43:42,020 Their brief time above ground has come to an end. 416 00:43:42,102 --> 00:43:44,377 The female starts to dig. 417 00:43:45,982 --> 00:43:49,372 The diminutive male being stuck on goes with her. 418 00:43:50,102 --> 00:43:53,731 He will fertilise the eggs later below ground. 419 00:44:01,142 --> 00:44:04,214 Her stay on the surface is over. 420 00:44:08,702 --> 00:44:12,297 The female has excavated a little chamber for herself 421 00:44:12,382 --> 00:44:14,850 and below that she has made a second one 422 00:44:14,942 --> 00:44:17,695 which she has filled with a frothy foam. 423 00:44:21,102 --> 00:44:24,094 This is the nursery for her tadpoles. 424 00:44:45,422 --> 00:44:50,735 The female stays underground away from the lethal heat for several more weeks. 425 00:45:01,422 --> 00:45:06,098 By now her offspring have almost completed their time as tadpoles. 426 00:45:17,782 --> 00:45:19,613 The rains return. 427 00:45:25,382 --> 00:45:28,533 Below ground the youngsters await their release. 428 00:45:48,622 --> 00:45:51,011 The female leads the way 429 00:45:52,262 --> 00:45:54,378 and her brood are with her. 430 00:46:23,982 --> 00:46:26,780 Rain is even rarer in Australia. 431 00:46:26,862 --> 00:46:30,821 There in the central deserts it may not fall for years on end. 432 00:46:33,822 --> 00:46:36,939 But there are amphibians even here 433 00:46:37,022 --> 00:46:41,777 little toads that remain underground in a state of suspended animation 434 00:46:41,862 --> 00:46:46,652 for years just to take advantage of a few rainy days. 435 00:46:49,182 --> 00:46:53,141 After the rains have fallen spadefoot toads all emerge together. 436 00:46:53,862 --> 00:46:58,174 They must feed and breed if possible before the sun rises. 437 00:47:05,382 --> 00:47:10,740 But the desert dries only too quickly even after the heaviest of storms. 438 00:47:11,182 --> 00:47:14,379 Temperatures rise to 20 degrees centigrade. 439 00:47:14,662 --> 00:47:17,415 Now water will evaporate instantly. 440 00:47:17,502 --> 00:47:20,335 This is one of the hottest places on Earth. 441 00:47:22,982 --> 00:47:27,772 So the toads have to retreat once again below ground. 442 00:47:27,862 --> 00:47:30,615 The miracle is that theyre here at all. 443 00:47:33,862 --> 00:47:38,458 A toad that can live in as parched a desert as this 444 00:47:38,542 --> 00:47:42,854 is impressive evidence of the versatility of the amphibians 445 00:47:42,942 --> 00:47:46,298 the way they can adapt their behaviour and their anatomy 446 00:47:46,382 --> 00:47:48,657 to live so far away from water. 447 00:47:49,142 --> 00:47:54,091 But there is one group of animals that can really call the desert their own. 448 00:47:54,182 --> 00:47:55,661 The lizards. 449 00:47:55,742 --> 00:48:01,260 And well look at them in the next episode of Life in Cold Blood. 450 00:48:10,262 --> 00:48:15,017 Amphibians are the most threatened group of vertebrates on the planet. 451 00:48:15,102 --> 00:48:18,731 In recent years a strange and lethal fungal disease 452 00:48:18,822 --> 00:48:21,211 has started to spread among them. 453 00:48:22,862 --> 00:48:26,821 The golden frog which lives only in one small area in Panama 454 00:48:26,902 --> 00:48:28,255 was in particular danger 455 00:48:28,342 --> 00:48:31,652 as the disease is already on the frontier of its territory. 456 00:48:31,742 --> 00:48:35,052 If we were to film it at all we would have to move quickly. 457 00:48:38,502 --> 00:48:40,857 For series producer Miles Barton 458 00:48:40,942 --> 00:48:43,137 that meant mean cutting short Christmas. 459 00:48:50,182 --> 00:48:52,093 (PLANE ENGINE WHIRRING) 460 00:48:55,942 --> 00:48:58,092 We had been told that in Panama 461 00:48:58,182 --> 00:49:00,901 the frogs few remaining breeding streams 462 00:49:00,982 --> 00:49:04,338 were being rapidly destroyed by the building of a new road 463 00:49:04,422 --> 00:49:09,371 making the last tiny population even more at risk from the disease. 464 00:49:11,582 --> 00:49:15,131 The fungus clogs the animals moist skin. 465 00:49:15,222 --> 00:49:17,497 Since all frogs breathe through their skin 466 00:49:17,582 --> 00:49:20,972 infected animals die from suffocation. 467 00:49:22,902 --> 00:49:25,291 Frog biologist Erik Lindquist 468 00:49:25,382 --> 00:49:28,613 who first described the golden frogs signalling behaviour 469 00:49:28,702 --> 00:49:32,217 helped the film team to thoroughly disinfect their kit 470 00:49:32,302 --> 00:49:35,180 before travelling into the frogs territory. 471 00:49:38,022 --> 00:49:40,695 Freshly scrubbed up Erik took the team 472 00:49:40,782 --> 00:49:44,218 to one of the golden frogs last known breeding sites. 473 00:49:49,782 --> 00:49:51,613 But would they still be there? 474 00:49:52,342 --> 00:49:53,377 (CROAKING) 475 00:49:53,462 --> 00:49:56,181 Yeah you hear that? Thats a male calling. 476 00:50:00,982 --> 00:50:04,338 Okay we have another male crawling up over here 477 00:50:04,422 --> 00:50:06,060 crawling up the rock face. 478 00:50:07,382 --> 00:50:09,657 ATTENBOROUGH: But with the fungus approaching at a rate of up to 479 00:50:09,742 --> 00:50:11,334 22 miles a year 480 00:50:11,422 --> 00:50:15,973 the frogs were rapidly disappearing from all their known breeding sites. 481 00:50:16,062 --> 00:50:18,781 The advance crew immediately set about filming 482 00:50:18,862 --> 00:50:21,330 as much of the behaviour as they could. 483 00:50:29,982 --> 00:50:31,495 By the time I arrived 484 00:50:31,582 --> 00:50:35,894 there was only one remaining location where the frogs survived. 485 00:50:42,262 --> 00:50:44,378 Where exactly are we going? 486 00:50:45,182 --> 00:50:48,254 I would prefer not saying precisely. 487 00:50:48,342 --> 00:50:51,334 You see this is really the last population of the golden frog 488 00:50:51,422 --> 00:50:52,696 left in the wild. 489 00:50:52,782 --> 00:50:57,936 And historically the locals have been collecting out these animals 490 00:50:58,022 --> 00:51:00,013 as good-luck talismans. 491 00:51:00,102 --> 00:51:03,617 And so now left with just one population 492 00:51:03,702 --> 00:51:09,732 Im concerned that if this secret locality gets given out 493 00:51:09,822 --> 00:51:13,292 there will be international collectors that would come. 494 00:51:13,382 --> 00:51:14,531 ATTENBOROUGH: Really? 495 00:51:14,622 --> 00:51:17,295 Sure. Theyre rare enough now 496 00:51:17,382 --> 00:51:21,933 where many people would pay top dollar for these animals. 497 00:51:22,022 --> 00:51:24,456 Were they ever what you might call common? 498 00:51:24,542 --> 00:51:27,773 When I talked to people who had been here in the past 499 00:51:27,862 --> 00:51:30,899 the populations were so abundant that one would have to watch 500 00:51:30,982 --> 00:51:33,257 where theyre stepping to keep from killing one. 501 00:51:33,342 --> 00:51:35,094 -Really? -Yes. 502 00:51:36,862 --> 00:51:40,537 Erik has his own low-tech method of finding them 503 00:51:40,622 --> 00:51:43,136 which he assures me normally works. 504 00:51:45,902 --> 00:51:47,574 (IMITATING CROAKING) 505 00:51:52,182 --> 00:51:55,492 See when you call sometimes theyll call back 506 00:51:55,582 --> 00:51:57,220 and theyll reveal their location. 507 00:51:57,302 --> 00:51:58,974 Sometimes theyre tucked away behind leaves 508 00:51:59,062 --> 00:52:01,451 and theyre really difficult to find. 509 00:52:01,542 --> 00:52:04,056 Hopefully we can elicit a response. 510 00:52:04,182 --> 00:52:05,535 (IMITATING CROAKING) 511 00:52:09,862 --> 00:52:12,535 Its the fastest way to get them to shut up. 512 00:52:15,582 --> 00:52:16,617 (CROAKING) 513 00:52:16,702 --> 00:52:18,533 -Was that him? -Yeah. Listen. 514 00:52:20,462 --> 00:52:21,861 (CROAKING) 515 00:52:21,942 --> 00:52:25,935 -So theyre here. -Theyre here. Theres one over here. 516 00:52:31,742 --> 00:52:33,061 -LINDQUIST: See him right there. -Yeah yeah. 517 00:52:33,142 --> 00:52:34,416 LINDQUIST: Looks like a male. 518 00:52:34,702 --> 00:52:36,021 Make him do it again. 519 00:52:36,862 --> 00:52:38,011 (IMITATING CROAKING) 520 00:52:42,662 --> 00:52:44,141 (CROAKING) 521 00:52:44,742 --> 00:52:46,095 (GRUNTING) 522 00:52:46,462 --> 00:52:48,180 You have to hum and whistle at the same time. 523 00:52:48,262 --> 00:52:50,378 Cant do it. See if he can. 524 00:52:51,982 --> 00:52:53,734 (LINDQUIST IMITATING CROAKING) 525 00:52:53,822 --> 00:52:55,494 (ATTENBOROUGH GRUNTING) 526 00:52:57,462 --> 00:52:59,020 (LINDQUIST IMITATING CROAKING) 527 00:52:59,182 --> 00:53:00,251 (CHUCKLING) 528 00:53:02,022 --> 00:53:06,300 Now we knew the frogs were still here we could complete the filming. 529 00:53:08,662 --> 00:53:12,371 The local people have always treasured their remarkable little frog 530 00:53:12,462 --> 00:53:16,535 but Erik was the first to document its signalling behaviour. 531 00:53:16,622 --> 00:53:18,817 It was an animal that was just walking. 532 00:53:18,902 --> 00:53:22,053 I wasnt sure if the animal was trying to flush out prey 533 00:53:22,142 --> 00:53:25,896 or if it was using it in a communication role. 534 00:53:25,982 --> 00:53:31,056 And so a group of us set out to look at whether or not this was communication. 535 00:53:31,262 --> 00:53:33,981 We tried mirror presentations to the animals. 536 00:53:34,062 --> 00:53:36,098 And when you presented them with a mirror 537 00:53:36,182 --> 00:53:38,457 they would hand wave at the mirror as opposed to say 538 00:53:38,542 --> 00:53:42,933 maybe the backside of a mirror that didnt have a reflective surface. 539 00:53:43,022 --> 00:53:46,810 Some of us have looked specifically at an LCD screen 540 00:53:46,902 --> 00:53:51,737 a little television with a hand-waving semaphoring frog 541 00:53:51,822 --> 00:53:56,452 and its elicited a number of responses specifically from males. 542 00:53:56,542 --> 00:53:59,773 ATTENBOROUGH: You show a television picture to a male and he waves back? 543 00:53:59,862 --> 00:54:02,217 -He waves back and hell even call... -Really? 544 00:54:02,302 --> 00:54:04,338 ...to the male on the television screen. 545 00:54:04,422 --> 00:54:06,936 -Its really fascinating. -Yes. Absolutely. 546 00:54:08,342 --> 00:54:11,857 They then experimented with a life-size plastic model 547 00:54:11,942 --> 00:54:13,773 complete with waving arm 548 00:54:13,862 --> 00:54:18,174 the sort of high-tech gear I thought I might manage to operate myself. 549 00:54:33,782 --> 00:54:36,296 Its not as easy as you might think. 550 00:54:41,902 --> 00:54:44,177 Erik showed me how it should be done. 551 00:54:44,262 --> 00:54:47,538 Youve got to get that slow-motion wave just right. 552 00:54:51,502 --> 00:54:53,458 The frogs waved. 553 00:55:02,622 --> 00:55:03,771 They called. 554 00:55:03,862 --> 00:55:05,215 (CROAKING) 555 00:55:07,622 --> 00:55:09,340 They even attacked. 556 00:55:10,342 --> 00:55:13,971 So that wave really is a form of communication. 557 00:55:14,062 --> 00:55:17,293 So theyre just saying Keep off keep off. 558 00:55:17,382 --> 00:55:18,781 Is that right? 559 00:55:18,862 --> 00:55:22,332 Were not sure. Sometimes there seem to be certain hand waves 560 00:55:22,422 --> 00:55:25,175 that may indicate appeasement showing that 561 00:55:25,262 --> 00:55:29,494 Im just walking through perhaps your territory. Dont bother me. 562 00:55:29,582 --> 00:55:31,618 Really? Ah please. 563 00:55:31,702 --> 00:55:33,181 (ATTENBOROUGH LAUGHING) 564 00:55:33,582 --> 00:55:36,699 But how endangered is the golden frog? 565 00:55:37,902 --> 00:55:40,814 This is it what you see. 566 00:55:40,902 --> 00:55:45,418 Youre going to be the last crew to film these in the wild. 567 00:55:46,742 --> 00:55:50,815 And indeed we were. Soon after finishing filming 568 00:55:50,902 --> 00:55:53,894 the local scientists decided the time had come 569 00:55:53,982 --> 00:55:57,372 to take all the surviving golden frogs into captivity 570 00:55:57,462 --> 00:56:00,659 before the fungus arrives here and kills them all. 571 00:56:01,142 --> 00:56:04,737 They and other rare species of frog also threatened 572 00:56:04,822 --> 00:56:07,700 were being brought back to a special frog hospital 573 00:56:07,782 --> 00:56:10,171 where I was introduced to some of the other patients. 574 00:56:10,262 --> 00:56:13,698 -So what are these? -Theyre nocturnal also... 575 00:56:13,822 --> 00:56:17,019 ATTENBOROUGH: Here theyre being treated daily with a fungicide 576 00:56:17,102 --> 00:56:19,138 but without a vaccine to protect them 577 00:56:19,222 --> 00:56:21,577 and with the fungus still at large in the forest 578 00:56:21,662 --> 00:56:24,938 they cant be reintroduced into their proper home. 579 00:56:30,022 --> 00:56:34,777 Frogs so common in these humid forests are crucial links in the ecology. 580 00:56:34,862 --> 00:56:38,537 If they disappear all kinds of food chains will be broken 581 00:56:38,622 --> 00:56:43,218 and the effect could be little short of catastrophic to wildlife in general. 582 00:56:45,222 --> 00:56:47,099 And sadly for now at least 583 00:56:47,182 --> 00:56:50,970 it seems that the golden frog has waved its last in the wild.