Introducing a White’s tree frog (a.k.a. an Australian green tree frog)

At The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, biologist and live collections supervisor Anna Simpson helps care for and share the museum’s “exotic butterflies, insects, reptiles, birds, reef and freshwater aquaria” and any other animals. In this Animal Encounters video, Simpson introduces a White’s Tree Frog, also known as the Australian green tree frog, “a species of tree frog native to Australia and New Guinea.”

“You’ll notice I’m wearing gloves, and you might think, ‘Oh jeez, now are those frogs poisonous? Do you have to be careful?’ They pose absolutely no risk to me. Their skin is such a delicate mucous membrane, that they can breathe right through it.

And it means that they can absorb a lot of different things, which is why I like to be careful and wear gloves when I handle these delicate animals.”

Another fun fact: They don’t drink with their mouths; they have drink patches on the backs of their thighs. If you venture out into nature in the spring, you may spot a lot of frogs and toads “hunkering down” into damp spots or puddles. “What they may be doing is drinking or even just conserving moisture.”

Watch more of The Strong’s Animal Encounter videos on their YouTube channel.

Then watch related frog and amphibian videos on TKSST:
• The mysterious purple frog of the Western Ghats
• The Titicaca water frog’s baggy skin
• Sounds of Survival: The quest to record an exquisite spike-thumb frog mating call