The poison frog's bright, eye-catching colors—shades of blue, red, orange, yellow, green, and black—are also a form of protection. To other animals, the colors mean "I am poisonous, so don't even think about eating me!" The Choco Indians in South America use the frogs' poison to coat the tips of the blow darts they use for hunting. You'll also hear poison frogs called "poison arrow frogs," but that's not accurate. The South American tribes that hunt with arrows usually coat their arrow tips with plantAny living thing that is not an animal. Plants live on sunlight and water instead of food. Plants generally cannot move on their own, and are not able to smell, hear, see, or touch. poisons, not frog poisons.
The deadly poison is found in the frog's skin, making it too toxic to touch. The Indians pick them up with waxy leaves and then dip their blow dart in the frog's skin secretions. Just a tiny drop can kill the birds and small mammals that the Indians hunt for food.
Most frog speciesA group of individuals that have many of the same characteristics, and are different from all other animals in some important way. Hamsters and mice are two different species of rodent. are nocturnalAwake and active during the night, asleep during the day., but poison frogs are active during the day, when their jewel-colored bodies can best be seen and avoided.