- I see it. (threatening music) I got it! - [Mark] Careful,
careful, careful. (woots) - Oh my gosh, are you ready? - [Mark] Yeah. - Oh! (scowls) Don't move, don't
move, don't move! I got it, I got it, I got it! There he is. (threatening music) (rainforest animals sing) The rainforest of Costa Rica boasts being an incredibly
diverse ecosystem with literally thousands of
plant and animal species. While many of these
creatures are nocturnal and rely on the darkness of
night to help keep them hidden, there are also plenty of
diurnal, or daytime, animals that one can encounter. Today we are exploring the Costa Rican amphibian
research reserve located in the Central Caribbean
zone, its 121-acre expanse is home to over 50
species of amphibians including the iconic green
and black poison frog. My goal was to
find, safely catch, and get one of these
rainforest gems up close for the cameras. Ah, no! Ah, they're so fast. However, catching a poison frog is far easier said than done. I just saw one. - [Mark] Did it hop away? - Yep, it's right
in the sleeves. Hold on. - [Mark] Did you get it? - I sure did. No, I did not. Are you serious? - [Mark] Anything? (Coyote grunts) Let go of the burrow. - I don't know where it went. Oh, jeez. Ah! (screams) - [Mark] What is it? - Stinging ants. (inhales painfully) Little fire ants. (screams) One of the dangers of
catching poison frogs is you just throw your
hands into everything and I just threw my hands
into a mound of fire ants. (exhales) Gosh, this is more difficult
than I thought it was gonna be. All right, come on. Not only are these
amphibians small and speedy, they're also incredibly
aware of their surroundings. Oh, there's one on that leaf. So at any sign of danger, they immediately flee
into their burrows. This is a bromeliad plant. You see how thick
the middle of it is. I'm just gonna bend this
leaf down a little bit, take a little glance in there. You see all that water? That pocket of water is exactly what the female frogs are
looking for to lay her eggs. - [Mark] Oh, there's a
poison frog right there. - Where, where, where? - [Mark] There's two. There's a red and then there, oh, the red one's just
tucked behind the leaf. But there's a little green one. - [Coyote] Oh, oh,
oh, that's a baby one. Oh, it's a froglet. We're definitely
looking for something that is way bigger than that. - [Mark] The adults
are hanging out by the plants, too, right? - Yeah, they can be. You can obviously also find
them around on the forest floor hiding in leaf litter or up
underneath root structures. All this area like this, just a matter of kind
of trekking through it and getting lucky
actually spotting one. All right, I'm
heading in to here. As we travel deeper
into the rainforest, the wet and rocky terrain only became more
difficult to navigate. And the ever looming
cloud layer overhead threatened a terrential
downpour at any moment. But I was determined to
catch one of these frogs. Okay, well, so far
I've missed catching a lot of these poison frogs. We've seen them and as
soon as you see one, they disappear to their burrows. We've been out here
for, I don't know. What would you say? Close to 3 1/2, 4 hours now? - [Mark] Yeah, I know. I think the rain's gonna
start rolling in soon. - I did not anticipate
it taking this long to get a little
green and black frog in front of the cameras. But we are not giving up. We're definitely seeing them. It's just a matter of Coyote
actually catching one. All right, let's keep moving. (threatening music) There's a frog. - [Mark] Ya got one? - Yep. - [Mark] Where, where, where? (Coyote grunts) - Went right up underneath
those roots, you see that? - [Mark] Where'd he go? - Right there, you see? There's this rock here. Look behind it. See those roots and those rocks? Yeah, back up in there. The frog pretty much
just disappears. Now you may be thinking, "Well, Coyote, just
stick your hand in there. "Get the frog." There could be snakes in there. There could be spiders in there. I certainly don't wanna
disturb the animals' homes so in all fairness that
frog evaded capture. (threatening music) And then finally the
combination of patience and a little
persistence paid off. - [Mark] Did you hear that? - Yeah, it's definitely a frog. I wanna see if it calls again. No, your camera did
get that sound, did it? You weren't rolling it? - [Mark] No. - Yeah, I definitely heard one. All right, I'm moving up this. It's definitely worth looking. This is a bit steep, but... Jeez it's muddy. I see it and it's definitely... - [Mark] Is it catchable? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well none of the rest
of them have been. Hold on a second. I'm gonna have to dive for it. Yes!
- [Mark] Did you get it? I got it! And a hand full of
grass, too. (woots) All right, I'm coming
down, are you ready? - [Mark] Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Oh, yes! - [Mark] Careful,
careful, careful. (woots) You all right?
- Okay, yeah. Covered in mud,
handful of leaf litter, but I definitely have the frog. Oh my gosh, are you ready? This has been one difficult
amphibian to come across. Ready? Oh! (grunts) Don't move, don't
move, don't move. I got it, I got it, I got it. - [Mark] There he is. - [Coyote] Okay, hold on. Just let it come down
there on a nice flat spot. It's gonna get away. I got it. (exhales tiredly) See how jumpy they are? I literally am
gonna have to hold onto this frog's
leg the entire time. Let me wash off my
hands in the stream here so I can get a
good handle on it. Ah, covered in mud again! My pockets are
wedged full of mud. Totally worth it though because now we have the
green and black poison frog up close for the cameras. Oh, you are not going anywhere. Wow, well there it is. The black and green poison frog. They are so incredibly fast. And the reason I've
had so much trouble is because they often hang out right in front of their burrows or in front of a root structure. So as soon as they feel
vibrations in the ground, any sort of sounds,
make visual contact, they say, "Bloop," and
disappear down into the ground. Now, aposematic is the term
that you always here me saying when it comes to these
brightly-colored animals. What aposematic means is
that it's a warning sign to any potential
predator that I am toxic. If you eat me, if the stomachache doesn't
make you keel over, it may in fact
actually kill you. This variety is
slightly more toxic than the granular or the
strawberry poison frogs so I am definitely gonna
be washing my hands after handling this frog. When I climbed up
the side of the hill, its back was actually toward me which is the only reason that
I think I was able to leap and grab ahold of the frog. But as you can see, as soon as I gave it any runway
for getting an escape route, it immediately hopped off my
hand and made a break for it. And the thing is a lot times
you try to catch poison frogs, whether it's this variety or
the strawberry poison frog or the granular poison frog, you think that
you've got the frog, but they move so quickly. As soon as you grab down at it, because you have to be gentle,
the frog is already gone. This is a terrestrial
species of frog. You'll notice that it
doesn't have webbing in between its toes. They're moving
throughout the rainforest searching the leaf
litter for any small bugs they can come across. They're opportunistic feeders. But this species specifically
loves to feast on ants. And it's actually the
alkaloids in the ants that give this
frog its toxicity. - [Mark] Coyote, why
is this considered the most iconic poison frog? - [Coyote] Just look
at the coloration. It's absolutely gorgeous. That green and black marbling
is so incredibly distinct. And look how evenly it's spread
throughout the frog's body. Now I do have an
admiration for these frogs. But if there's somebody that
really loves these frogs, it's Mark. - [Mark] Ah, jeez, yeah. - [Coyote] Yeah,
calling you out. - It's true. Since I was eight years old, that's my favorite
amphibian right there. Actually I have a mousepad
of that exact frog. - [Coyote] He does. I bet you're pretty excited. Once we get this episode
through post-production, you get to edit the thumbnail. Because Mark edits
all the thumbnails for the YouTube channel guys. You're gonna actually be
scrolling your mousepad over an image of this frog while editing an
image of this frog. - I know. It's kinda crazy, but
I'm excited about it. - [Coyote] Very cool. All right, well, I am muddy, I
am sweaty, and I'm exhausted. But we finally managed to get the green and
black poison frog up close for the cameras. I'm Coyote Peterson. Be brave. Stay wild. We'll see you on
the next adventure. Over the years filming
brave wilderness episodes, I have managed to encounter
many species of frogs. Whether they were giant
bullfrogs of the south, culturally iconic
red-eyed leaf frogs, or tiny toxic
jungle jelly beans, the green and black poison
frog is certainly one that I will always remember as being well worth
the epic adventure, an incredible challenge to
get up close for the cameras. If you thought the green and
black poison frog was colorful, make sure to go back
and watch our episode about the red-eyed leaf frog. Don't forget, subscribe so
you can join me and the crew on this season of
Breaking Trail. (birds sing)
