Poison dart frogs, Malayan flying frogs, tomato frogs, and smoky jungle frogs hop through the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and New York Aquarium.
At the Bronx Zoo, home to more than 40 species of amphibians, newly installed video and graphic displays inside World of Reptiles highlight the ongoing amphibian crisis. Discover the plight of the Kihansi spray toad, lost from its native home of Tanzania but rescued from extinction by Bronx Zoo herpetologists. Alongside the displays is a case of 24 original ceramic frog and toad sculptures by sculptor Priscilla Denaci Deichmann.
A new activity area in the Discovery Center at the Prospect Park Zoo, open from 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. weekends (and weekdays by appointment) includes a Frog Feet Costume Area and amphibian-themed board games. In its Main Hall, the New York Aquarium is featuring frogs from around the world, including the White’s tree frog, Argentine horned frog, Malagasy tomato frog, and Oriental fire-bellied toad.
At the Central Park Zoo, a new Amphibian Crisis Center displays highlights the WCS Puerto Rican crested toad rescue effort. As part of a program to revitalize this species, zoo animal husbandry experts reared more than 450 healthy tadpoles in New York and released them in a manmade pond in the island’s Guanica State Forest.
Download our Year of the Frog activity guide to use during your trip to the Bronx Zoo. Search for the frogs and toads on our awesome amphibian checklist, take a trivia test, play Frog Sudoku, and learn simple “green” tips that will earn you a ribbet of thanks.
Watch an interview to learn more about Puerto Rican crested toads.
- Be sure not to keep exotic amphibians as pets.
- Reduce, reuse, recycle—it really makes a difference! Use nontoxic cleansers and fewer pesticides to reduce environmental pollution.
- Volunteer at the Bronx Zoo’s World of Reptiles (must be 18 or older). Send your resume and a letter stating why you want to volunteer to:
Bronx Zoo Department of Herpetology
2300 Southern Boulevard
Bronx, New York 10460
ATTN: Volunteer Coordinator - Support conservation organizations like WCS that are committed to protecting amphibians. Our scientists conduct surveys of amphibian populations across the globe. Their work ranges from studying the effects of urban sprawl on amphibians in North America to monitoring frogs in the mountains of Papua New Guinea.
- Sign your family up for Bronx Zoo Education programs, such as the frog-themed Wild Wheels Animal Safari for toddlers and the Year of the Frog talk with the Zoo’s Curator of Herpetology.
- Frogs are among the world’s oldest animals—they’ve been around since the days of the dinosaurs, more than 200 million years ago!
- Using the strong muscles in their legs, frogs are amazing jumpers. The bullfrog can jump a distance of 10 times its body length. The South African sharp-nosed frog is the world record holder with a maximum jump of 44 times its body length!
- Some frogs and toads use amazing methods to ensure the survival of their eggs and young. The male midwife toad carries a string of eggs around his legs, moistening them as needed and later releasing the tadpoles into the water. The female Surinam toad carries her eggs in the spongy tissue of her back. Many poison dart frogs transport tadpoles on their backs to a suitable stream or pond where they can safely grow.
- Frogs and toads have good eyesight, which they depend on to catch moving insects.
