Catching the Pac-Man Frog that Eats EVERYTHING!

0:00 Alright, on today's adventure,

0:02 we are checking deep into the Amazon rainforest of Peru in search

0:05 of the incredible frogs and amphibians that call this environment home.

0:09 Now, there is one particular species of frog

0:11 that I have always wanted to find in the wild,

0:14 the legendary Pacman frog, one of my favorites since childhood,

0:18 and with any luck, today's the day we're going to catch one.

0:21 Here we go.

0:22 There's a lot of species that live out here

0:26 that are exclusively nocturnal and will be sleeping this morning.

0:29 So we're gonna have to take our time scanning the leaves,

0:32 looking for frogs that are up in the canopy off the floor.

0:36 And there is definitely no guarantee that we're gonna find one.

0:39 So this is gonna be a great habitat for Pac-Man frog right here.

0:43 See all in this leaf litter right up against the tree.

0:46 And what I'm looking for is I'm looking for horns

0:48 sticking up above the leaves and maybe a set of eyes.

0:53 Oh, frog right there.

0:54 Oh, look at this little guy.

0:57 All got it?

0:58 Oh, this is a monkey frog.

1:00 Hello.

1:00 Sorry to wake you up.

1:01 Don't worry.

1:02 We'll put you right back.

1:04 Oh man, this is a, a juvenile, just a small one.

1:07 They can get a lot larger than this, but I know it's a monkey

1:10 frog because of those distinct ridges on the side of its head behind the eyes.

1:15 Now you can see why they call them monkey frogs.

1:18 Look at those long limbs and how they walk.

1:21 Oh, they can jump.

1:23 Whoa.

1:23 Hey buddy, where'd you go?

1:25 Now this is an i Boreal species.

1:27 They live up off of the ground being a leaf frog.

1:30 They have sticky pads on those fingers.

1:32 What's also unique about this species is you'll notice they're not very wet,

1:36 they're more damp than anything,

1:38 and that's because they excrete a waxy substance that protects

1:42 their skin from moisture loss when they're up in the canopy.

1:45 All right?

1:45 Probably don't wanna handle this frog too much.

1:47 And it is worth noting anytime you handle frogs,

1:49 you wanna make sure you're not wearing any insect repellent or sunscreen.

1:53 I have thoroughly washed my hands

1:54 this morning in preparation for this adventure.

1:56 They are very fragile, and any contaminants on your skin can really hurt a frog.

2:01 So if you're ever out fogging, wash those hands first and afterward.

2:05 All right, let's put this little fella back and keep on our search.

2:09 Bye buddy.

2:09 So cool.

2:11 That monkey frog was awesome and a great way

2:14 to kick off our search for the Pac-Man Frog,

2:16 a species known to inhabit this particular part of the Amazon rainforest.

2:21 All right, guys, got a little river crossing here, a little stream ahead.

2:26 Oh wow.

2:27 Giant nettle plant guys.

2:29 They have huge stingy nettles out here, so careful for those.

2:36 Look right there.

2:37 Look at that right there.

2:40 Where guys, Mario, is that a fringe?

2:42 Are you kidding me?

2:44 Wow, look at that guys.

2:46 Oh my gosh.

2:47 This is like the frog to find here in this part of the Amazon guys.

2:52 Wait until you see this frog open up.

2:56 Oh my goodness.

2:57 Wow.

2:59 Yes.

3:01 Look at that frog.

3:03 Are you kidding me?

3:04 Look at this.

3:05 I'm trying not to drop the frog,

3:07 but it's hard to keep my composure 'cause of how cool this is of a fine guys.

3:11 This is the fringed leaf frog and the reason it's called the fringe leaf frog.

3:15 Look at those fringes on the hind legs.

3:17 See all the fringes all around its body and its feet.

3:19 It's able to tuck in and conceal itself and it blends in perfectly.

3:23 Let's go back one more time.

3:24 If you see all the spots on this leaf,

3:25 look at the spots on the back of this frog blends in almost perfectly.

3:29 I don't think it'll get away if we just let it sit there.

3:31 Honestly, if we didn't point out that nettle right next to us right there,

3:36 I never would've saw this frog.

3:37 I can't believe you saw it.

3:39 How lucky, how lucky.

3:41 This is the first time I've ever seen a species this rare during the day.

3:44 And look at those pads and they're so sticky.

3:47 They're super gummy and tacky.

3:49 I could feel with every step those sticky pads.

3:52 Oh man, that is so cool.

3:53 Look at the underside.

3:54 Look how bright orange it is underneath,

3:56 almost has tiger stripes up and down the legs.

4:00 Look at those eyes.

4:02 Those eyes are just so cool.

4:04 Gray with the vertical pupils.

4:06 So we've seen a lot of leaf frogs in the history of brave wilderness,

4:08 but this is the first truly rare species that we've ever found in the Amazon.

4:14 We're definitely have to get a few photos before we let this one go.

4:16 This is one for the wall.

4:18 Oh my gosh, we're waking up this little frog,

4:21 keeping it up a little past its bedtime, but that's okay.

4:23 We're gonna put it right back.

4:25 But wow.

4:26 Had to show you that one.

4:28 The fringe leaf frog.

4:29 Guys, take a good look.

4:31 You may never see one on video again.

4:34 Wow, coming across that fringe leaf frog was a big surprise.

4:38 And it made me think if we kept spotting all of these incredible species,

4:42 maybe I would finally track down a Pac-Man frog.

4:47 Have to cover a lot of ground,

4:48 but also get a little lucky just scanning, looking for anything that stands out.

4:54 Oh, holy cow.

4:55 Look at the size of that frog, Mario.

4:58 All right, here's something that I've run into a lot.

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6:11 Alright, now back to the action.

6:14 Look at that.

6:15 I can see it from here.

6:16 See that branch that's hanging over?

6:18 Oh man, look how big that tree frog is.

6:23 Oh my goodness.

6:24 It's a giant.

6:25 Let's see if we can get a little closer on.

6:27 It might jump.

6:27 That is a big frog.

6:29 Wow.

6:30 All right.

6:31 This guys is what's called a gladiator tree frog.

6:35 How's it going, buddy?

6:37 Wow, you're huge.

6:39 Oh my gosh, you're so big.

6:42 The gladiator tree frog is actually pretty

6:44 rare for us to find in this environment.

6:46 Typically, from what I know, you find these frogs closer to streams.

6:50 So seeing one out here in this dense forest is a real surprise.

6:54 If you can't tell, I'm shocked.

6:56 Not only by the size of this frog, but the fact that we found one.

7:00 Oh boy.

7:01 All right, we got a hopper.

7:02 Hang on.

7:02 Hello.

7:02 Hang on.

7:03 Let's try to calm down.

7:04 Let's try to try to calm down.

7:05 Alright, gladiator tree frog.

7:07 Why did they get that name?

7:10 Well, it's because it's one of the few species

7:12 where the males are actually larger than the females.

7:15 And almost all frogs, the females are larger, but not the gladiator tree frog.

7:19 And that is because the males will actually spar and fight for territory.

7:24 So this of course is another ab boreal species, a tree frog or a leaf frog.

7:28 And you can see that there has those big sticky pads and they are sticky.

7:32 Man.

7:32 Look at the size of those legs.

7:34 So you can see that this is a very powerful frog

7:37 capable of jumping great distances through the canopy from tree to tree.

7:41 But I have to say, when it comes to gladiator tree frogs,

7:44 I think we found a true champion in this one.

7:47 Let's put 'em back up on his perch

7:48 and keeps searching for one of those Pac-Man frogs.

7:51 How cool.

7:51 For those who don't know,

7:53 the frog I'm searching for gets its name from the classic video game Pac-Man,

7:58 where you control a yellow character with a big mouth

8:01 that moves around the screen gobbling up everything in sight.

8:05 All right, guys, a little soupy here.

8:08 Oh yeah.

8:08 Oh, you good?

8:17 Hang on, Pacman, we got a Pacman right here.

8:23 Holy smokes.

8:25 This is one of my favorite all time frogs.

8:29 And now I get to hold one for the first time we got 'em, the Pac-Man frog.

8:37 And if you can't tell, I am over the moon right now.

8:41 As a kid, I absolutely loved to read

8:45 about frogs and learn about these amazing amphibians.

8:48 Of course, my all time favorite is the green

8:50 and black poison frog, the dja betas raus.

8:53 But this is a very close.

8:55 Number two, the Pac-Man frog.

8:57 First and foremost, let's just take in how cool this frog looks.

9:01 Look at how big the face and the mouth is of that frog.

9:05 But look at how, oh geez, they tried to bite me.

9:08 Do you see that?

9:08 Oh, geez.

9:09 They tried to bite me again.

9:10 Now I, I've heard they can bite, so I wanna be careful.

9:12 They do have a tooth in there.

9:16 Oh boy.

9:17 Hey buddy.

9:18 Okay, definitely tried to bite me twice.

9:21 I'm gonna keep my finger back.

9:22 I'm gonna point from behind the frog, not in front.

9:24 All right.

9:25 It's hungry little guy.

9:27 All right.

9:28 It is stout.

9:29 You could tell this frog is, is an ambush predator.

9:32 Now, there are species of horn frogs.

9:34 You can see the two horns above the eyes here,

9:37 and that's usually all that you will see.

9:40 And the only reason I was able to really

9:42 see this frog is because there's a pop of light,

9:44 almost spotlighting it through the trees.

9:46 But typically when you find them out here,

9:48 you'll only see those two little points

9:51 with little eyes sticking up above the leaf litter.

9:53 They choose to stay hidden so they can ambush their prey as it's walking by.

9:58 One of the more unique facts about

10:00 this frog species is it will eat literally anything.

10:04 It can fit into that mouth.

10:05 And when I say everything's on the menu, literally everything,

10:08 anything that moves other frogs, snakes, and even other Pac-Man frogs.

10:14 This is a cannibalistic species.

10:16 So typically you don't find them hanging out right

10:18 next to each other unless of course it's mating season.

10:22 Now, this is an adult Pac-Man frog, but they can get a whole lot larger this.

10:27 In fact, they can get up to five times this size.

10:30 Imagine a big max size version of this frog.

10:33 They can literally get that big.

10:35 Now of course, these frogs are very common in the pet trade.

10:38 There's all different types of color mores,

10:39 but the ones that you will see out here in the wilds of the Amazon rainforest,

10:44 they're going to be brown and red like this coloration,

10:47 and then they would drift all the way to a bright green,

10:50 which are a little bit more rare.

10:51 But you can see why this brown coloration,

10:54 this brownish red is a perfect camouflage for the leaf litter in this forest.

10:59 So just by that fact alone,

11:01 you'd have to assume there's gonna be a lot more of these frogs,

11:04 this brown color than the green leaf litter.

11:08 But you do find 'em bright green,

11:09 even though it does look very toad like it is a frog.

11:13 But they are terrestrial, meaning they're gonna live here on the forest floor,

11:17 not around the water, not up in the trees.

11:19 This would be a prey item for predators out here.

11:22 You'd have birds, small cats, like an ocelot,

11:25 would love to make a meal out of a Pac-Man frog.

11:28 So they definitely want to stay hidden,

11:31 not only to ambush their prey, but also to evade predators.

11:36 Look at that little meatball.

11:38 The Pac-Man frog of the Amazon Childhood Dream come true.

11:42 Check.

11:43 All right guys, well,

11:45 I hope you enjoyed this adventure out into the rainforest of Peru.

11:49 I certainly did.

11:49 This is one I'll not soon forget.

11:51 I'm Mark VINs.

11:53 Be stay wild and we'll see you on the next adventure.

11:57 Alright, let's go put this packin frog right back.

12:01 Cool.

12:01 Thanks.