High-diving tadpoles
Tree frog tadpoles leap into the unknown to escape predators.
David Attenborough looks at a South American red-eyed tree frog, whose colouring is a close match for the tree on which it sits. The eggs aren't very conspicuous either as they are just little blobs in transparent jelly - but they are always laid on leaves overhanging water. The eggs develop very quickly in the jelly and in less than a weak they are recognisable tadpoles and almost ready for freedom. Then the jelly liquefies and the tadpoles simply drop into the water below. But that's only if they are the lucky ones. Wasps raid the cluster and steal some of the tadpoles to feed their young. And yet the tadpoles aren't entirely helpless. By the time they are five days old they know when they are under attack and they can do something about it. They can wriggle free of the eggs and the leaf and deliberately drop into the water below, raising the alarm for all the other tadpoles to do the same. Once in the water, they may be under-developed but they can swim well enough to hide among the plants.
Duration:
This clip is from
Featured in...
Cute animal babies
Favourite video clips of the some of the worlds cutest animal babies.
91热爆 Nature
Be captivated, informed and inspired by the world's wildlife.
Playing with Time
A collection of clips showing the best in timelapse nature films.
More clips from Land Invaders
-
Legless amphibians
Duration: 03:29
-
Sign language
Duration: 03:45
-
Stalking salamander
Duration: 01:30
-
Amphibian characteristics
Duration: 01:28
More clips from Life in Cold Blood
-
Swallowing serpent—The Cold Blooded Truth
Duration: 00:46
-
Leaf Litter living—Dragons of the Dry
Duration: 01:11
-
Hidden hunter—Dragons of the Dry
Duration: 01:00
-
Milk and honey—Dragons of the Dry
Duration: 01:29