The Gliding Tree Frog: The Rainforest Frog That Parachutes Through the Trees
Saturday, 23 May 2026
Some frogs spend their lives in the tree canopy and only
come “down to earth” when it’s time to find a mate and breed. They can live in the treetops because the
environment is so humid that they do not have to rely on puddles or pools to
get by. That is the case with the gliding leaf frog, and the way it gets itself
back to the ground is quite spectacular.
The gliding tree frog (also known
as the gliding leaf frog) is endemic to the humid forests of the tropical east
pacific, in countries including Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador (but
not spread throughout these countries).
They have huge webbed feet – and that’s just as well. They use them, effectively, as parachutes. Once they get to the ground the males begin
to sing – to attract the females. This fills the surrounding forest with noise –
so it is the female who makes the ultimate choice of which male she wants to
mate with. She always seems to go
towards the loudest calls – this generally means a bigger frog! However, in order
to get to her choice, she has to get past the other frogs who want to get
overfriendly with her… and so she sometimes has to use her very large feet to
kick unwanted suitors away. That is more difficult than it sounds, given that once
attached, the male frogs are almost impossible to remove.
Watch some amazing footage of the gliding leaf frog in the
video below. To be honest, it looks like
something of a free for all!
Give a Gift
If you enjoyed this article, please consider making a gift to help Ark In Space to continue to bring you fascinating features, photographs and videos.
Thank you!