GOT MILK FROGS?

ADULT MILK FROG
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DETROIT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Three more months will pass before our native gray treefrogs, the chameleon of our frog world,
a  beautiful frog with large suction cup toe pads reappears in the woodlands of Michigan.
Search all you want now and none are to be found for gray treefrogs have evolved the
"I'll become a popsicle" technique of hibernation to survive winter.
When late fall arrived, a special chemical in their body allowed their body fluids to take
on a slush like composition and not freeze solid. All heart beats and respirations ceased. 
Yet they are alive and well in earthy hideaways, And there they will remain in a state
of suspended animation until vernal ponds thaw and warm rains soak the earth.

Does your little one want to see a frog now?

Then head for the amphibian house of the Detroit Zoo. I'ts climate controlled to the liking
of  tropical frogs and one species, a tree frog of the Amazon is drawing crowds.
Meet the Milk frog!
The mission golden-tree frog ( Trachycephalus resinifictrix) lives high in the canopy of
 South Americas tropical rainforest and breeds in tree cavities. Robust breeding acitivy among
 the  mission  golded-tree frogs  (also known as the blue milk frog because of the milky white
toxin it secretes through its skin when threatened)  is also occuring at our Detroit Zoo National Amphibian Conservation Center.  About 50 tadpoles are in various stages of metamorphosis.

There is a great opportunity for zoo visitors to see these tadpoles up close.
 Some are still in the early stages of metamorphosis while others have formed hind and
 fore limbs  and absorbed their tails.  Others have already transformed into tiny froglets!

Hop on over to  www.detroitzoo.org  details on hours, fees and zoo location.

New milk frog froglets at the Detroit Zoo!