The Arrow-poison frogs of Central and South America are very unusual creatures. Not only has God created them with the ability to produce a toxic substance from their skin, which is most amazing in itself, but has made them the most extraordinary of parents.
In one species it is the mother that is the very attentive parent, and in another the father takes on the parenting duties. This article will concentrate on the mother.
The female Arrow-poison frog of the South American jungle goes to great lengths to ensure the survival of her young. She lays her eggs on the undersides of leaves where they develop in the humid climate. When the egg develops into a tadpole, she returns and allows it to crawl onto her back and then sets off to find a pool of water. After selecting the rosette of leaves that traps the pool of water, she backs in and allows the tadpole to wiggle off where it will continue development. Every few days she will revisit the pool and lay a couple of unfertilized eggs which the tadpole will eat if no other food is available. Even though she may have a dozen or more, the mother will regularly visit each pool of water where she has a developing baby and carefully monitor its progress.
How does the frog know how to do this? Where does she get the information? How does she find the eggs or tadpoles again after first laying them? All these mysteries will go unanswered because only the Creator knows for sure.
