Don't Kiss The Frog

You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your handsome prince.  So goes the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm about the frog prince.  

The version ending with the Princess kissing the frog, who transforms to a handsome prince, is unfaithful to the original in both spirit and content. In the original tale it is the abject rejection of the frog that culminates in the princess violently hurling the hapless amphibian against a wall that transforms him.  The Brothers Grimm sometimes dispensed with nuance.

The version with the kissing is more about doing what you are told - and for women anyway - compliantly accepting their fate.  The original fairy tale is edgier, much more about societal status, the traditional role of women in general and the assertion of free will.  The tale is dripping in allegory and bears little resemblance to a Disney production.  Naturally, all things Disney become fantasized.  Besides, I have the book and have read the tale.  You can fight me over interpretation any time you care.

If only Russian dissident and opposition leader Alexei Navalny had an opportunity to toss his assassins against a wall. 

According to five European governments, recent forensic testing reveals that Navalny was likely murdered with epibatidine, a potent neurotoxin found in South American poison dart frogs.  This finding has resurrected scrutiny over the circumstances of Navalny's 2024 death barely two years ago. 

France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK have reported that independent laboratory analysis detected the rare toxin in preserved tissue samples from Navalny's body.  They argue that inasmuch as there is no credible natural explanation for its presence they have reported the findings to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons as a possible violation of international law.

I am not a biologist, but even I know that poison frogs are not native to Russian Gulags situated above the Arctic circle.  What I do know is that even small amounts of this toxin can disrupt the human nervous system, causing paralysis, respiratory failure and death. 

Navalny died February 16, 2024 imprisoned in a remote and frozen Soviet-era penal colony.  Naturally, the Putin regime denies any involvement insisting that their problematic citizen passed away of natural causes.  

Six years ago I had the opportunity to learn more about South American poison dart frogs on a museum tour.  You can see them here in captivity - duplicating their tropical environment.

 

Got to hand it to Vlad.  It used to be Sudden Russian Death Syndrome; the accidental falling from hotel windows phenomena that has claimed the lives of a mind boggling number of businessmen, bureaucrats, oligarchs and journalists as a mechanism to silence opponents would suffice.  Having dispensed with the messiness of Polonium-210 as the poison of choice the play list now includes a toxin from South American poison frogs. 

If only the Brothers Grimm were alive today to spin a fairy tale with this material.....

CSI Door County

 

In the corner of the garage while tidying-up for winter was this. 

The skeletal remains of a tree frog.

How do I know?

Dissection of frogs in biology classes.

The quarter laid next to it is for scale.

Medical examiner rules tree frog.  Cause of death; lost and subsequently perished by natural causes.....  

Early Warning System

The peninsula suffered a mild earthquake recently so it is timely to introduce you this guy.

This is the American toad (Bufo americanus).

Wisconsin is home to one solitary species of toad.

They're good to have around as they are an early warning system of sorts.

When it comes to predicting earthquakes, toads - warts and all - may be an asset.

British researchers said Wednesday that they observed a mass exodus of toads from a breeding site in Italy five days before a major tremor struck, suggesting the amphibians may be able to sense environmental changes, imperceptible to humans that foretell a coming quake.

Since ancient times, anecdotes and folklore have linked unusual animal behavior to cataclysmic events like earthquakes, but hard evidence has been scarce.

A new study by researchers from the Open University is one of the first to document animal behavior before, during and after an earthquake.

I'll let you know if I see an exodus of my toads.

But only after I beat it out of Dodge first.

You can learn more about it here. 

Frogger

Member of the local frog chorale, adept climber of vertical surfaces and personal friend.  

click on image for a closer look

 

Meet Hyla versicolor - the gray treefrog. 

This amphibian sports a number of chameleon-like qualities allowing it to change in coloration in seconds from green to gray with darker mottling or a solid color.  It tends to be darker when it is cold and dark yet can blend-in easily with a tree’s bark or foliage.  Field marks for this frog include a white spot below each eye, white belly and bright yellow-orange skin beneath its thighs.    

The gray treefrog is nocturnal – foraging in the evening for insects and other bugs and resting during the day in cover.  I found this guy beneath my Weber Smokey Joe.  The toe pads are pronounced and produce a sticky substance allowing this critter to cling to various surfaces.  

While the breeding season is presently in full swing - this species will sing beyond the breeding season, especially on warm, rainy or humid days.   The female selects a mate based upon his call, lays up to 2000 eggs in groups of 10 to 50.  The tadpoles hatch in four or five days and will change into froglets in about two months.    

The gray treefrog overwinters under leaf litter, logs and rocks and actually freezes.  It produces large amounts of glycerol replacing water in vital organs which acts like antifreeze and prevents ice crystals from forming in the cells.  The frog’s body freezes and its heartbeat and breathing stop.  When the temperature warms up – the frog thaws out and emerges to serenade us with its calling.

Don't Kiss The Frog!

Sunday – January 6th - was the last day of Frogs! at the Milwaukee Public Museum.  One of the most advanced traveling frog exhibitions in the country Jill and I took the opportunity to take-in and experience the vocal and visual beauty of these frogs from around the world. The exhibition has moved-on and this is the third of several postings I promised to publish over the next couple of weeks.  Be sure to check back and learn more about the herps - my favorite people.  

You do not want to kiss these frogs because the most poisonous animal around is not a snake or a spider.  It might be one of these stunningly beautiful frogs.  While most frogs produce skin toxins - these Central and South America amphibians are the most deadly of all.  The Golden Poison Frog (Phyllobates terribilis) holds enough toxin that an amount of poison equal to 2-3 grains of table salt is enough to cause the death of a human.       

From the exhibition are the Blue Poison Frog (Dendrobates tinctorius "azureus") and Dyeing Poison Frog (Dendrobates tinctorius). 

click on images for a closer look

The Yellow-banded or Bumblebee Poison Frog (Dendrobates leucomelas) and green-and-black poison frog (Dendrobates auratus).     








These poison frogs play an important role in the culture of indigenous South American hunters.  The tips of blow darts are inoculated with poison by rubbing the dart tips over the skin of a frog, stabbing or slowly roasting a frog causing it to excrete a toxic white foam.  The toxin tipped darts are destructive enough to kill bats, birds and monkeys. 

If you are wondering why these frogs can survive in the wild while sporting such brilliant and vivid coloration the answer is simple – they can.

Herps!

Herpetology (from the Greek ἑρπετόν herpetón, meaning reptile or creeping animal) is that branch of zoology focused-upon the study of reptiles and amphibians.  You know – snakes, turtles, lizards, toads, frogs, salamanders and other associated critters.  

Not many people know this but frogs and toads are both amphibians and while they share many similarities they are also different.  As a general rule - frogs spend most of their lives in or near water while toads are more terrestrial.  A frog’s skin is smooth and a toad's skin is bumpy.  Technically-speaking a toad is a type of frog and Wisconsin is home to twelve species of frog - including the American Toad.  Got that straight?  Herps are some of my best kind of people.  But I digress. 

Sunday – January 6^th - was the last day of Frogs! at the Milwaukee Public Museum.  One of the most advanced traveling frog exhibitions in the country Jill and I took the opportunity to take-in and experience the vocal and visual beauty of these frogs from around the world. 
The exhibition has moved on but stop-by and visit the blog from time-to-time as I’ll publish some additional postings over the next couple of weeks.   

This is not a cow pie or Jabba the Hutt – it’s an African bullfrog.  Capable of growing up to eight inches in diameter they eat just about anything that moves – including small birds and mammals.  In the wild this frog can burrow underground and go without food and water for months at a time. With the arrival of the seasonal rains they emerge to feed and mate.  The male guards the tadpoles that swim around him for protection.  While protecting the swimming tadpoles the adult will also feed on them.  After metamorphosis the froglets often eat their smaller siblings. 

This guy is fed rodents once a month after which he sleeps it-off.

click on the image for a closer look