Keepers are going green for all things amphibian this World Frog Day!
Lollihop, Yoda and Wallcott are among the 13 frogs leaping into the spotlight today to enjoy a tasty cricket.
To celebrate, Keeper Kasey Fenwick shared her top three most ribbeting frog facts…
Frogs swallow using their eyes!
“Frogs can’t swallow food like you or I can, they swallow using the backs of their eyes!
“So what they do is when they get the food into their mouth, they pull their eyes back in and the backs of their eyes will push the food back down into their throat and into their stomach,” said Kasey.
Frogs can indicate the health of an ecosystem
Adelaide Zoo is home to two frog species native to Australia, Magnificent Tree Frogs and Red-eyed Tree Frogs. Frogs play an important role in the ecosystem and can indicate the health of an environment.
“A lot of our native frogs are really good ecosystem indicators because they have sensitive skin and any toxins that exist in our rivers or streams will absorb into their skin, so you’ll never find frogs in those environments.
So you know it’s a healthy environment if frogs are present, it’s a green tick!”
These little amphibians have big personalities
Frogs may be small, but Kasey said what they lack in size they make up for in personality.
“I love working with frogs because they have so much personality, they are all stomach and love to eat!” finished Kasey.
The public can visit the Magnificent Tree Frogs and Red-eyed Tree Frogs in the Envirodome at Adelaide Zoo. Each visit supports Zoos SA’s vital conservation work to save species from extinction.
