Original subtitles

I see it, I see it, I see it.

Right here, about 2 and 1/2 feet in front of me.

Let's go for it.

Got it!

The last place one would think to look for an amphibian

is at the top of a mountain.

However, in a secluded lake on Orcas Island,

it just so happens that one exists.

And we were told that all it takes to find one

is a little searching amongst the lily pads.

All right, guys so we have made it to the water.

I'm going to head out across this log

and see if I can find anything.

Check this out.

It's a mountain lake Whoa.

Now, normally I'd be excited looking for turtles.

But we are way too high up for there

to be any reptile activity.

But I'm told there's a chance we could come

across rough-skinned newts.

So I'm going to start searching, and hopefully

come across one of these elusive little amphibians.

Hey, Coyote.

Mario's got some newts over here, man.

They're pretty big, too.

Mark and Mario have spotted some newts.

So I'm going to move through all this muck and mud

and see if we can catch them.

I see it, I see it, I see it.

Right here, about 2 and 1/2 feet in front of me.

Just go for it.

Go for It.

Got it!

Yes!

There we go. Yes!

Nice.

Mario, there are newts here, man.

Check that out. Good spotting, Mario.

All right - Dude.

High five.

And that is a rough-skinned newt.

OK, let's get up here out of the water

and get it up close for the cameras.

Woo!

Well, that didn't take long.

Check it out.

Yeah, no question about it.

That is a rough-skinned newt right there.

And look at that little amphibian.

How adorable is that newt?

You see all the bumps running along the length of the body?

Definitely.

Oh yeah, all bumpy.

Pretty crazy, right?

Hence the name rough skin.

Now, if I turn it like this and we look at its underside,

look at that bright orange.

Oh yeah.

And notice how that bright coloration runs

down the length of the tail.

And that's called aposematic coloration.

And this bright color warns any potential predator

that I am toxic.

Now, if a predator like a raccoon or a fox

comes down to the lake and finds one of these newts--

and let's say it eats it, there is a good chance

that that animal is going to become very sick,

or it could potentially die.

Now are these--

I heard these are one of the most toxic amphibians

in the United States.

It is one of the most toxic amphibians.

However, I'm in no danger right now,

because the toxin which can be secreted through the skin,

is not harmful unless you actually ingest it.

So as long as I don't eat this newt,

I'm going to be just fine.

And look at that.

It is on the move.

It's saying right now, OK, just want to get back into the water

so I can start hunting for the evening.

And what they feast on are small invertebrates.

Any sort of larva, little water bug, or even something

like maybe even a small fish would be fair game.

That is one adorable little amphibian.

Oh, look, he's doing--

he did a back roll.

Yeah, they'll do anything they can to get away.

It's best if I just let it walk from hand to hand here.

Let me kind of--

Now, Coyote, are these only aquatic?

Do they live on land or just in the water?

Well, they start their early stages as being

completely aquatic as larva.

And then as they get older, like this-- this is an adult,

they can obviously go onto land.

Their semi-terrestrial, but they spend a majority

of their time in water.

That's where they breed.

That's where they hunt.

And like most amphibian species, they do need to stay moist.

But because this is a newt, its skin

can dry out without having any sort of real negative effect

to the animal.

In fact, they can travel for miles over land,

moving from body of water to body of water.

Now, I've noticed, because we've filmed

with salamanders and newts, newts

seem to be a little more lumbery They don't move as fast.

Why it that?

No, they don't.

And you know, they're faster in the water

than they are on land.

And as you can see, they do not have webbed feet.

And there are four toes on the front, five toes on the back.

And they kind of walk up on all fours when they're traversing

across forest terrain--

much faster in the water than they are on land.

And pretty well-camouflaged, too.

I mean, if you didn't know what you were looking for,

mixed in with pine cones and sticks and pine needles,

that creature is almost completely

invisible to the human eye.

All right, let's bring you back up here.

little guy.

Look at those eyes-- big buggy eyes.

Looks like the eyes of a toad.

And I love that about most amphibian species,

how to have those big eyes that sit up on top of their skulls.

Now, look at the tail.

This is a great opportunity for us to see how long and flat

it is.

That's like a rudder.

And when I went to catch this newt, it took off so quickly,

it was just a burst of power from its tail

that jutted it forward.

And I just barely was able to grab a hold of it

and get it out of the water.

A lot faster than I thought it was going to be.

That is one speedy little amphibian.

Well, how cool is this?

Exploring around a mountain lake,

and we managed to come across one of the most

common amphibians in the state of Washington,

the rough-skinned newt.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next location.

Oh.

Heard it.

Oh.

There-- there he is, right here.

him in the bag

before he jumps again.

Oop, he's on my hand.

I've been waiting to get the shot for years.

Look at that.

You can see right through the underside of that amphibian,

I love frogs.

Always have, always will.

In fact, I don't think I've ever met a person

that didn't love frogs.

I mean, what's not to love?

So when it comes to finding an incredibly high density of frog

species, one of the best places you can visit

are the rainforests of Central and South America.

On this adventure, the Brave Wilderness team and I

are back at the Costa Rican Amphibian Research reserve,

where once again, we will be working

alongside world-renowned frog expert Brian Kubicki.

All right, guys.

Well, we just had an enormous rainstorm push through,

which makes it the perfect time to head out into the rainforest

and search for amphibians.

Now, we're looking for glass frogs

tonight Not only going to be looking,

we're going to be using our ears to see

if we can hear them first before we

spot them with our flashlights.

So if you guys are ready, let's head into the darkness

and see what we can find.

Most species become active at night.

So as we headed off into the darkness,

it wasn't long before the sounds of frogs were all around us.

Now, we had great rain that pushed through.

So there's a lot of moisture out tonight.

But I noticed so far, we've been searching

along the edge of the stream.

Is, like, flowing water the best place

to search for glass frogs?

Yeah, definitely.

Glass frogs, they're associated with streams and rivers.

So what we're going to be doing tonight,

we'll be walking along these smaller streams,

looking in the vegetation growing on the banks.

So we're kind of-- we'll be going around, listening

for the calls, and then we'll look according

to what the species call from.

OK, well, this looks like as good a place

as any to get into the water.

So you want to lead the way, and we'll head upstream to start?

All right.

Let's go, guys.

Watch your footing coming through here.

And, of course, keep your eyes peeled for [inaudible] ants.

Glass frogs are Brian's specialty.

So our goal is to find two species that we

could compare side by side.

And it wasn't long before we had the first frog

of the night in our sights.

Let's go ahead and get this one in a little bag here.

I've got one in my pocket here.

We just need simple collection bag.

This is perfect for storing small amphibians temporarily.

We'll bring it right back out onto its leaf tonight.

a little bit.

You can Maybe [inaudible].

Oh!

Look, he jumped on here.

I'm just going to put the--

Now, shine it, Mark. He's right there.

You see him hanging off the backside of the leaf?

There we go.

Perfect.

Oop, put him in the bag before he jumps again.

Oop, he's on my hand.

Got him in the bag.

Hold on, let me come up.

See him in there?

Yes.

On your finger,

Oh, he's trying to get out.

Other way, buddy.

Other way.

There we go.

OK, cool.

Oh, there he is.

I can see him inside the bag.

The dwarf glass frog is considered common,

so it's almost guaranteed that we

would come across this species.

Awesome, part one of two.

Now we need to find one with a transparent ventral side.

Oh, oh, stay down there, buddy.

OK, let's keep going.

However, finding a glass frog with a transparent ventral side

was going to be much more challenging.

So we headed deeper to the rainforest.

Brian's amphibian reserve spans over 120

acres of pristine rainforest.

It's a labyrinth of disorienting confusion.

But the good news for us was that Brian

knew every step of it like the back of his hand.

Eventually, we made our way up into a small feeder creek,

the one place that he was confident

that we would find the tiny treasure

we had been searching for.

Oh, we got it right here, Mark.

[inaudible] right here.

Careful, Mario, it's slick back here.

Guys, watch your footing.

It's really narrow right here.

Oh, man, I am--

Here, Mark, let me get up to this spot.

OK.

OK, Mario, can you see it?

Yes.

I'm on it.

See him?

Yeah.

jumps.

And--

We got him.

Nice.

That's Oh, man, that's cool.

And it's the green-striped glass frog.

So now we have the two frog species

that we were looking for.

Let's get them back in a controlled setting,

get them on a piece of glass, and up close for the cameras.

Yes, this is awesome!

All right, guys, careful getting back out of here.

Mario, man, yes.

With two distinctly different specimens

in our possession, we safely made

our way out of the rain forest and back

to the jungle base camp.

All right, guys, and we are back in a controlled setting.

Now, this is the only good way to get an up-close look

at the glass frog.

And what I have right in front of me here,

just coincidentally, is a piece of glass.

Now, we have sanded down the edges so it isn't sharp,

and no one's going to cut themselves.

And what we're going to do is actually

place these little itty-bitty frogs

on the back side of the glass so that we can get

a good look at their bellies.

Cool, check that out.

Now, that looks perfect.

Can you see through there?

I sure can.

Now, I also have my SOG flashlight-- my trusty SOG

flashlight, the Dark Energy.

And once we have a frog up on the backside here,

I'll be able to do this.

Light it up, and you'll be able to see right through it.

Cool.

Now, what I also have is this little container of water.

And that's because I will be constantly

keeping my fingers moist while manipulating the frogs tonight.

And this water has been filtered.

It is completely safe for the animals.

OK, you guys, ready to bring out our stars?

Let's see those frogs.

All right.

And right here, two little Kermits coming in hot.

Oh, perfect.

Look at that shot right there.

See the undersides?

There is the green stripe, and there is the dwarf.

Now, we'll get the dwarf out first.

And let's take a look at its top side before we go to the belly.

Does that sound good?

Yeah.

All right, now I am going to use this leaf,

and try to gently coax the frog out.

Now, we have worked with some fragile animals before.

But nothing is more delicate than a glass frog.

OK, the dwarf one is right where we want it to be.

[inaudible] it out?

There.

Just want to try hop on the leaf.

Oh, on my finger.

So you got an OK shot there?

Sure do.

Let's see if I can just get it

to hop right up on the glass.

Got for it.

Perfect.

Look at that.

Like a little, sticky, green booger.

So cool.

So tiny, too.

Look, I will put my thumb right up next to the glass.

That frog is no bigger than the tip of my thumb.

And you can see--

Go ahead and zoom in on it there, Mark.

see that side.

Look at that green coloration.

It's so vibrant, especially under the lights.

Frogs have a lot of personality.

Oh, they really do.

You can see-- ooh, looking right towards me.

They're very, very intelligent.

You can see right now, just looking

for somewhere to jump next.

I'm hoping it's going to stay right on the glass for us.

And you'll notice the skin is very shiny, right?

It is very moist.

And look at how big those eyes are.

Now, one very interesting thing about glass frogs

is their eyes rest right on the front of their skull.

Now, this is a great chance for us to look at this frog's

little tiny toes.

And they do have a very minimal amount of webbing,

especially between the front toes and the back toes.

I can actually see the bones in the toes in the light here.

That's crazy.

Look how they can manipulate the position of their fingers.

Look at that.

You see how these left two here turn to the side?

And these frogs are not only excellent at jumping,

but also at climbing.

Here, let's do this real quick.

Let's see what happens when I light this frog up.

OK.

Ready?

Mm-hmm.

Put it, like, up at it.

There you go.

Yep, that's great, right there.

Cool.

Here you go, buddy.

Now, Coyote, why are you using the forceps

instead of your fingers?

Well, those forceps

definitely are not absorbing any moisture

out of the frog's body.

What I don't want to do, because my hands are warm, is--

whoa.

All the way over the glass. Did see that?

That was a high jump right there.

Oh, on my arm.

OK.

The heat from my skin will actually draw some

of the moisture from its body.

So that's why I'm using the forceps to keep it in one spot.

OK, here we go.

yeah, see the line.

We saw the-- oh. Yeah, here.

OK.

There we go.

Perfect.

All right, now you

can see that the upper half of its ventral side

is not completely transparent.

The one that we're going to get out in a second,

you can see everything on the inside.

But from the back here, I can see the heart beating.

I can also see the bones in the legs.

You can see all the pigmentation of the skin,

and it's a real great example of why they're named glass frogs.

You can see how semi-translucent all the membrane

is in this frog's body.

And did you guys know this?

That Kermit the Frog, the inspiration

for the design of that very famous puppet,

actually came from the glass frog.

And notice-- let me see if I can do this.

You see how each little toe looks like it

has a suction cup on it?

And there was a great little move there.

You see how they just kind of hop and walk at the same time?

And when they're up in the treetop canopy,

they're moving around from leaf to leave hunting for insects.

Now, they are little tiny carnivores.

They're voracious predators.

And every single night, once it gets

dark-- they're primarily nocturnal,

they are hunting nonstop.

And a little creature like this can

eat bug after bug after bug.

So Coyote, we're going to be looking at two

species of glass frogs tonight.

How many are here in Costa Rica?

Ah, Great question.

There are actually 14 described species of glass frog

here in Costa Rica.

Now, the two that we're looking at tonight are rather common.

But there's a new one that was just described in 2015.

And actually Brian, who we were out with earlier tonight,

he actually discovered that frog and named.

He's the one who-- yeah, he classified it.

He is the glass frog expert.

Well, that's why we were out with him tonight

to find these two species.

And I think at this point, let's get the dwarf glass frog back

into the container and bring out the green-striped Does

that sound good?

Sounds good to me.

OK, now lets see if I can just get this guy

to jump right off [inaudible].

Perfect.

Let me see if I get it

to just jump right inside here.

Here we go, and--

Pretty impressed by the jumping ability

of these little frogs.

Ah, it's crazy, right?

Yeah, they can really move.

There we go.

Perfect.

Well, I can already tell this one is a lot more translucent.

Well, yeah, and look

at all of that beautiful speckling on its back.

Now, they get the name green stripe because--

oh.

Kermit, come back. Where is he?

There he is.

Right here.

Frisky little guy.

There we go.

Now, look at all the beautiful speckling on that frog's back.

This one is so unique-looking.

And they get the name green stripe,

because if you look right down the center of its back,

it has a very distinct green stripe.

Now, you'll notice the eye structure on this one

is a little different.

The eyes actually look a little smaller

and the pupil is a little wider.

Oh, let's bring you back over here.

Frisky little frogs.

Yeah, they do have a mind of their own.

It has bunch of yellow spots all over it.

Yeah, it does.

That's really cool-looking.

And you'll notice that the toe structure is also very similar.

And just like the dwarf glass frog,

this is an arboreal species as well.

I really just want to try to get it backed up in the center

of the glass here.

OK.

OK, that's a great spot.

Now it's got this entire glass to work its way up.

And I love that, how they just keep their bodies

slightly off of the leaf.

And again, that ability to not only

hop, but also hop and walk at the same time.

Now, the green stripe is incredibly rare.

This species was only re-discovered

in 2004, dating back to 1952.

Between '52 and 2004, there were only four

of these that were found.

Isn't that pretty crazy?

This is a very, very rare amphibian for us

to be looking at tonight.

And he's back down on the table.

Let's go back up on the glass.

There you go.

Now, the only way that we were able to locate

one of these frogs was being out there tonight with Brian.

And his expertise for not only being able to hear these frogs,

but then also being able to spot them in the wild,

is unlike anything.

He is truly the glass frog expert.

All right, now the top side is very

impressive-- speckling and the green-striped nose, big eyes.

But I know what you guys are waiting for us

to see the ventral side, where we can actually see

those internal working organs.

Shall we bring it around?

I've been waiting to get this shot for years.

All right, let me delicately

get it back onto this leaf.

There we go.

That's good, and get ready for it.

Here comes the jump and the reveal.

Look at that.

Oh boy.

You can see right through the underside

of that amphibian.

All right, let me--

oh no, you need Oh, where you going?

Kermie.

That's a cool shot.

It's really cool.

Hold on.

I'm going to bring it back down here.

I don't want it to jump off and on to your camera.

OK, I'm going to get it back on here.

I'm going to actually give it a little dip of water

here, since you got off the glass.

There you go, buddy.

All right, here we go.

Here comes the hop.

They're so incredibly lightweight.

Oh, there's a great shot in the leg there.

Oh, and he tucked it back in.

You can see when I get the light right up to the leg,

you can see right through it.

You can see the skeletal structure.

You can see the insides.

Oh, that's so cool.

Coyote, I got to tell you what I'm seeing here.

I'm actually looking at the heart

filling and pumping blood.

You can actually see the blood moving in and out of the heart.

That's so cool.

You can see some of the arteries through there, can't you?

Oh yeah.

You can see on the back side of the leg.

I can kind of see some through on this side.

You can see the whole digestive system.

You can see all the vascular system.

You see it all.

You can see everything.

I would say out of any

of the amphibians we have ever filmed,

this has got to be the coolest.

Look at that.

Right there is the most quintessential textbook

shot that you can get of a glass frog.

Man, I've been waiting

to shoot this for so long.

This is so cool.

Well, we have been to Costa Rica many times.

And now we finally have the opportunity

to work with a glass frog that has a completely

transparent ventral side.

Now, this one here is a male, and what's really interesting

about the species is that the males actually take care of

and look after the eggs.

Now, they oftentimes will lay their egg masses

on low-hanging leaves near flowing water.

And when those eggs hatch, the tadpoles

drop down into the water, and that cycle will repeat.

Now, let's look at the size of this frog.

I'm going to hold my thumb up right there.

It is no bigger than a thumb, and this frog is full grown.

Now, the largest glass frog species here in Costa Rica

only grows to be about 3 centimeters in length.

But there is one in South America

that grows quite a bit larger, if 8.4 centimeters is larger.

I mean, it's certainly nothing like the smoky jungle frogs

that we've come across here or the bullfrogs

that we've seen in the States.

But doesn't matter.

Size is not everything when it comes to being adorable,

because this frog is absolutely the cutest amphibian

I think I have ever seen.

Wow, this was so cool.

Well, it's taken us several trips to Costa Rica.

But we finally managed to get the tiny glass

frog up close for the cameras.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

Working with amphibians is a difficult balance,

as these fragile creatures must always

be handled with incredible care to ensure their well-being.

Under Brian's guidance and expertise,

we managed to not only get the images we needed,

but also safely release the frogs back

into the same locations where we had found them.