Where Do Rubber Frogs Whistle?

Rubber frogs are actually a real species of frog that live in southern Africa. They are called rubber frogs because of their smooth, dark skin that looks very like commercial rubber. If they sit still, you might mistake them for models.

Rubber frogs, however, don't sit still for long – they are really good climbers and they use the adhesive pads on their toes to scale up rocks and rotting tree stumps in the forest where they live. They are also good at digging and burrowing and they are quite happy to dig up a termite's nest for a huge meal of the termites inside.

If they are threatened they can defend themselves by producing a toxic and sticky fluid that sears the skin of other amphibians.

The whistling starts during the breeding season – the males attract the females with a call that is an extremely piercing and lour whistle that can be heard up to one kilometre away. So, rubber frogs whistle to their prospective mates, filling the dense air of southern African forests.

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