Poison Dart Frog Adventure

This poison dart frog adventure was one of the coolest wildlife experiences I have ever had!
I went on a herping tour focused on poison dart frogs with Los Naturalistas in western Panama in February of 2018. This is a vlog of my one day trip with my guide Abel Batista and his assistant Michele. It was one of coolest experiences I've ever had in my life. To hold such an amazing frog is truly surreal!
Also, you might note I already posted this video and I am reposting it now. I had to repost it for various reasons. Sorry about that, but it is worth watching again because there are a lot of great changes to the video! Also, the thumbnail of this video has a species of frog not native to Panama, I just want to acknowledge that because this video takes place in Panama. I used this photo because it was the only photo of a Poison Dart Frog I had access to when I published this video.
I highly recommend Abel and his tour company for wildlife tours. The tour was very special because Abel is a trained academic with a PhD and has published almost 30 papers on the ecology and conservation various reptiles and amphibians. Not only is he great at spotting wildlife but he is also extremely knowledgeable. I also found both him and Michele inspiring for anyone with a love of nature. There is nothing like going out into the field with a top scientist.
We saw a handful of species of frogs, including many morphs of O. Pumilio, a poison dart frog. In this video you will learn much about the natural history, conservation, and ecology of poison dart frogs. One issue I explore is the threat of chytridiomychosis, a disease caused by an invasive chytrid fungus affecting amphibians all over the world.
Catching a frog is an activity that needs to be done with care. All of the wildlife handling done in this video was closely monitored by trained professionals and no wildlife was removed from its natural habitat (one conservation story I touch on in the video is the illegal removal of frogs in the wild for the illegal pet trade). I also stress that you should not catch or handle a poison dart frog in the wild while breaking trail without assistance from an experienced professional because not only could it be harmful to a species of concern, but they are also toxic animals.
You can customize your tour with Los Naturalistas for your own wildlife interests. My tour was $200 for the day, but we covered a lot of distance, and your total price may be split between several people.
I hope this video inspires people to look at frogs in a different way than before. Most people gave me confusing looks when I told them I went on a poison dart frog tour, but after watching this video you will see that going on a poison dart frog tour is an absolutely amazing experience. If you come to Panama, contact Los Naturalistas, and go on a tour with them. It will be one of the coolest things you will ever do.
Los Naturalistas website: www.losnaturalistas.com/engli...
Los Naturalistas instagram: / losnaturalistas
If you are interested in more content like this, subscribe to the channel. My name is Eddie and I am a biologist who teaches people how to enjoy nature. I do wildlife tourism guides and vlogs, app and gear reviews, natural history lessons, and much more.

[@Adventure.Ed.EcoFit]

does anyone have any interesting stories about the chytrid fungus? comment below

[@MummaB66]

How does this only have 97 likes!?

[@BioBush]

Awesome! It's a beautiful place and amazing people. Thanks for bringing up conservation, because habitat loss is affecting almost every species. I think that providing space for animals to live alongside people, and respectful hobbies like birding and ethical herping are part of the answer. Also, what a deal to hang out with someone so experienced! I would sit there learning about frogs and lizards all day.

[@Adventure.Ed.EcoFit]

thanks for watching :) yea Abel's tourism service is definitely special because he is such a qualified scientist that also works as a wildlife guide. if you go to Panama you need to look him up!

[@coolwaterbear6725]

This guy Is a professional KZbinr with amazing content. He should be much more known. Thanks for the content!

[@Adventure.Ed.EcoFit]

That was such a nice comment, thank you! And thanks for watching! 😊

[@gordroberts53]

Hi Ed! That was so cool! What I appreciated the most was the raw, atypical approach to a travel blog. Travelling with you to see these tiny creatures in their own habitat was truly thrilling. Thanks so much for sharing. Cheers from BC!

[@Adventure.Ed.EcoFit]

thank you so much Gord! I definitely recommend this tour company, as you can see fromt he video Abel is an amazing expert! My long term goal is to do lots of vlogs like these where I give a raw, first-hand perspective of going on wildlife ecotours like this. glad you enjoyed the video, and thank you very much for your kind support!

[@luca490]

Awesome trip. Abel truly knows what he's talking about and you can feel the respect he has for nature. Nice video! Maybe a tip for future videos: I think music is a little too loud compared to the talking parts of the video.

[@Adventure.Ed.EcoFit]

Luca Pat thanks for watching 😊

[@dirtywhitellama]

So cool! Was looking for footage of dart frogs in the wild to help with setting up an appropriate enclosure for my future pets. Got way more than I expected. Thanks for sharing.

[@Tijlliekens]

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@dianasimiand8520]

They are cool

[@rogersearcy]

another great video

[@Adventure.Ed.EcoFit]

Thanks a lot it was a fantastic adventure! I highly recommend going on a tour with Abel!!

[@12342087]

Really enjoyed this video thx

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

Amazing work Ed. Getting to see poison dart frogs in the wild is one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and Evan and I found only one species! This looks like the adventure of a lifetime, getting to see that many poison frog species in one day must have been an incredible honor. Your shots were fantastic, I learned a lot, and I loved your emphasis on conservation throughout the video. It’s through amazing videos like these that we may be able to inspire some real conservation action from the public and get them excited about wildlife. I can’t for more from you! - Harrison

[@Adventure.Ed.EcoFit]

thanks a lot for commenting homie. do you know which species of poison dart frog you saw? (if you didn't notice before, I had to repost this video, lol, in case yuo wondering

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

We saw the Western Pacific morph of the Green and Black Poison Dart Frog, Dendrobates auratus. I had actually seen this video on your channel, but figured I’d comment to leave some support! - Harrison

[@Adventure.Ed.EcoFit]

@@TheWildlifeBrothers thanks a lot homie! Really appreciate it! yeah Dendrobates is pretty awesome. where in Costa Rica did you go?

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

We stayed with friends, first in the Central Valley outside of San Jose, then to Orotina on the Pacific coast. We also went to a couple national parks, Irazú Volcano National Park, Carara National Park, and Manuel Antonio National Park.

[@Adventure.Ed.EcoFit]

very cool, I ma sure you got up close with some awesome wildlife :)

[@Cleeon]

Now i can see how big they're compared with human hand, thanks so much

[@itsryanwilkes]

Freaking awesome video man! I would love to do a herping tour at some point. Panama looks like a pretty sweet place for it. Subbed!

[@Adventure.Ed.EcoFit]

thanks a lot for watching :) going with Los Naturalistas is especially the way to go, their contact info is in the description. You can customize your tour and Abel is the best guide you could have. let me know if you have any other questions.

[@mattblake9936]

The single most depressing thing in the world to me is deforestation, a single tree in that jungle is a whole world.

[@dianasimiand8520]

I lov birds to

[@Hammncheeez]

Peace........................................

[@mitchellallen4591]

Hi there this was really inspirational, I would be really interested to also know and understand the type of plants encountered within these habitats ? Would you have a reference or source for this information

[@DocFrogChannel]

Well, I may say that the cover poison frog is Dendrobates tinctorius, not a Central American species. And that I did not see any poison "dart" frogs, only rocket frogs and poison frogs; the only dart frogs are the ones in the genus Phyllobates (check: www.dendrobates.org/2010/03/a-suggestion-about-common-nomenclature-for-dendrobatids/). In any case a good trip with a great guide, Abel.

[@Adventure.Ed.EcoFit]

yeah haha, I acknowledged that it was not a species from Central America that is in the thumbnail. thanks for watching!

[@1ikegen]

Go to brazil to find poison dart frogs

[@fernandoaries9817]

🗣🐸💜💛💙❣️

[@Adventure.Ed.EcoFit]

thanks for watching :)