Poison dart frogs get their name from the indigenous peoples of South America's rainforests, who once used the frogs’ toxic skin secretions to hunt. By rubbing the tips of their arrows or darts on the frogs' skin, they made their weapons more effective at stunning prey.
The frogs’ striking colours are nature’s warning signs to predators. However, not all dart frogs are equally toxic, and the frogs here at Odense ZOO are completely harmless. That’s because their poison comes from the insects they eat in the wild. When fed a different diet in human care, they don’t produce toxins.
At Odense ZOO, you can find three types of dart frogs in our South American tropical exhibit: The green, the blue, and the striped poison dart frog.