3 February 2016
The park's herpetology department has welcomed some real little rascals. The milk frogs, Mange and Mona, laid eggs on 11th December last year, and now there are 13 cute little frogs. The frogs have now gone from eggs to tadpoles, which took about 1-2 days, and have now finally grown legs and become fully developed frogs after about a month as tadpoles, though they are still significantly smaller than their parents. They are also much more active than the adults, and when we were taking photographs of them, one little mischief-maker decided to hop out on a little expedition, first onto its keeper's arm, then down its neck. Perhaps it was cosy sitting there, who knows, though it’s unclear if Sandra found it equally cosy.
The milk frog is arboreal and found in the northern parts of South America. They have a beautiful covering with a green base and a brown-beige pattern, while the small individuals are more black and white in their covering, presumably to resemble bird droppings in their camouflage.