00:02These are the Panamanian Golden Frogs and these guys are found in Panama and these
00:07frogs are important because these guys are extinct in the wild.
00:15No frogs have been seen in Panama for about the past seven, eight years.
00:20The major threat right now for these frogs is a fungus that is sweeping through
00:24Central and South America. It's called the chitrid fungus.
00:26It disrupts how these frogs breathe.
00:29Amphibians breathe through their skin, so it disrupts that process.
00:32And the fungus is spreading in other parts of the world too, so it's a big concern.
00:40We've had this species here for about 13 years and we've been breeding them successfully
00:45for about the past five years. This year's breeding season has been going pretty well.
00:49Right now we do have one pair are in breeding mode right now.
00:52The male will be on top of the female for several months until she starts to lay eggs.
00:56And then as that happens, he will fertilize the eggs as she's laying them.
00:59But it can be several months before we do see any activity like that.
01:07They stay pretty small, only weigh around seven to ten grams, which is pretty tiny for a frog.
01:12And they will hop around, they'll go in the water, they go up on leaves, not too high up though.
01:20These frogs will be very toxic in the wild, almost stronger frogs for toxicity.
01:24They have their very own strong kind of toxin, but in captivity these guys are not toxic at all.
01:30So in the wild it depends if the frog eats a bug and the bug is eating the plant.
01:33That kind of helps convert the toxin process.
01:44These frogs are brightly colored and they have a very unique pattern as well.
01:49So we can differentiate between each frog.
01:51Coloration is there to kind of ward off other animals and may try to hurt them.
01:54Other animals know that these frogs are poisonous and toxic and they won't eat them, ideally.
02:04These frogs are the national treasure of Panama.
02:07And they're kind of the way that we view the American eagle here.
02:10That's how they view these golden frogs in Panama.
02:14Lots of people.
02:15And they're the ones us.
02:18And they're the ones you want to eat.
02:19While they're innocent, there's no way other animals.
02:19Go to theren��us.
02:19There's a race.
02:20There's a race.
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