-"Menghayati!"

has been made possible by... ...and Avalon Nature Preserve, connecting communities to nature since 2002... the Peter H. Warny Conservation Fund, celebrating the life of Peter H. Warny through supporting this program and conservation projects worldwide.

Additional support comes from Utalii Peer To Peer Tourism, providing personalized tour experiences to tourists worldwide...

The Institute for the Conservation of Tropical Environments, and Centre ValBio, saving wildlife and habitats through research, community, and conservation... EFG-Renascence Productions, a unique next-generation studio that broadens our minds by connecting us through films.

-"Menghayati!"

♪♪ -Are you ready to follow your dreams, have fun, meet amazing animals, amazing people, and help our planet?

If that sounds like something you want to do, then we're right here in Cahuita, Costa Rica.

Let's go!

♪ It's time to step outside ♪ It's time to follow your dreams ♪ ♪ It's time to step into nature ♪ ♪ And see things you've never seen ♪ ♪ A quest to love our planet ♪ Like snakes, it's time to uncurl ♪ ♪ The bees and frogs are in danger ♪ ♪ Let's go around the world -Let's go!

-In our previous episode, we were in Playa Grande, Costa Rica, to meet our amazing secret creature and work together with an organization that worked with the community to help bring this amazing creature's babies back to the Caribbean Sea.

In today's episode, we're heading back to Playa Grande, Costa Rica.

Only this time we're heading into the forest and to another special location to bring friends into the forest to meet some amazing wildlife... [ Animals calling ] ...and our secret creature of the night.

So if you're ready, let's go!

-"Menghayati!"

-Welcome to "Menghayati!"

-- where you get to discover creatures and cultures from around the world.

And remember, the word menghayati means to have a deep, loving connection to all living things.

In today's episode, we're right here in the Wildlife Lodge of Cahuita to discover a really cool creature that comes out at nighttime in this very forest and lays eggs under leaves!

And this creature is really, really awesome.

However, before we get a chance to meet it, we're going to learn a bit more about the Wildlife Lodge in Cahuita and how you get here.

So if you're ready, let's go!

-"Menghayati!"

-The Wildlife Lodge is located in a beautiful forest at the end of Cahuita, near Playa Grande.

The forests there contain tons of biodiversity.

[ Animals calling ] ♪♪ Bosque actually means "forest"... and biodiversity means the "diversity of life, including animals and plants."

The forests there contain many beautiful gardens created by its first founders, including... Memorial del Bosque, the Frog's Garden, the Snake's Garden, and a garden for medicinal plants.

The earliest settlers there came from Jamaica and the surrounding islands.

Because they were among the first settlers there, they became familiar with the indigenous Bribri and Cabécar people.

If you ever visit there, you can meet amazing wildlife, members of the community.

and of course, hear are the most famous phrase in Costa Rica.

-Pura vida Costa Rica!

-Pura vida!

-Pura vida Cahuita.

-Pura vida Costa Rica.

-Pura vida!

And now that we got a chance to see the Wildlife Lodge and learn some history about Cahuita, it's almost time to meet our secret creature.

♪♪ -"Menghayati!"

♪♪ [ Both squawking ] -Hello.

I'm Leah.

[ Squawks ] -And I'm Rico.

[ Squawks ] -And we have a very special message for you.

[ Squawks ] -It's a "Creature Clue."

[ Squawks ] -Okay.

We live in Costa Rica... and lay eggs under leaves.

-And when nighttime comes down, we call loudly from the trees!

[ Laughs ] [ Both squawking ] -And now it's time to guess our secret creature.

Is it, "A," the red-eyed tree frog... "B," the northern cat-eyed snake... "C," the tiger-leg monkey frog... or, "D," the strawberry dart frog?

Pura vida!

[ Chuckles ] Big thanks to all our friends and guides that brought us into the rainforest... [ Animals calling ] ...to see so many creatures out at night time.

And now we're going to see some out in the wild.

The red-eye tree frog's one of the coolest frogs in Central America.

With their bright red eyes, orange feet and blue sides, these frogs are absolutely beautiful.

They're nocturnal and come out at nighttime, and you know they're there because the males can make a sound using their special vocal sacs.

[ Frogs ribbiting ] These frogs lay eggs under leaves.

♪♪ The eggs provide food for snakes sometimes and continue the next generation of red-eyed tree frogs.

The northern cat-eyed snake is a beautiful snake that can be found throughout rainforests in Costa Rica and spends most of its life in trees.

It's a nocturnal snake that hunts for small creatures, including frogs and small lizards.

However, it may soon get the name northern egg-eating snake because one of its favorite foods to eat is the eggs of the red-eyed tree frog.

♪♪ -[ Burps ] -The strawberry poison dart frog is one of many dart frogs that lives throughout Costa Rica.

It's unique in that it comes in different patterns and colors.

However, no matter what pattern or color it is, they are all poisonous, and like all wildlife, it's important to leave them as you find them.

They also have a very important role in the ecosystem by eating lots of insects, including ants.

The ants that they eat actually help to increase the strength of the poison in their skin.

So, like all wildlife, make sure you leave them as you find them.

The tiger-leg monkey frog is a gorgeous frog that is similar to the red-eyed tree frog and shares its habitat.

And as you can see, the red-eyed tree frog has red eyes and the tiger-leg monkey frog has golden and gray colored eyes.

♪♪ And like the cat-eyed snake and red-eyed tree frog, it spends most of their time in trees.

It's also quite unique in the way that it lays its eggs during the daylight hours, even though it's a mostly nocturnal frog.

Which animal do you think it is?

-Five, four, three, two, one.

♪♪ -And the secret creature is... the red-eyed tree frog.

Wait a minute, everybody!

We have a bonus creature.

[ Animals calling ] And today's bonus creature is... the tiger-leg tree frog, also known as the splendid frog.

Both the tiger-leg tree frog and the red-eyed frog are amazing frogs that are found in Costa Rica.

These frogs are beautiful, and if you notice, they both have the same green color, although they have a few different colors.

If you look at the feet of the red-eyed tree frog and the tiger-leg tree frog, both of them have bright orange to yellow feet.

However, if you look at the sides of their body, the tiger-leg frog has a beautiful yellow coloration with tiger stripes, and the red-eyed tree frog has a blue coloration with white stripes.

♪♪ The eyes of both frogs are different.

As you can see, the tiger-leg frog has golden eyes with a little bit of gray in the middle.

The red-eyed tree frog has red eyes.

However, both have eyes with an elliptical pupil because they are both nocturnal.

Both of these frogs and all frogs can drink through their skin and have permeable skin.

This is very important for them to absorb moisture from the forest as they climb through the trees.

♪♪ Both of these frogs are absolutely gorgeous, and that's why we chose them as our amazing secret creatures.

♪♪ And now it's time to see some red-eyed tree frogs out in the wild.

-"Menghayati!"

♪♪ -One day I was visiting Costa Rica during my first worldwide quest to connect children around the world to nature.

During that trip, I met some new friends, including Greivin and Finn.

Finn was part of a Rainforest Animals Rescue Group and invited me to go on a special tour.

I was so excited, I eagerly accepted and after hiking on the tour for about 10 minutes, we saw many cool animals, including my first wild red-eyed tree frog.

♪♪ This was my first time seeing wild red-eyed tree frogs in Costa Rica, and it was absolutely amazing.

♪♪ The Wildlife Lodge is one of many organizations located in the province of Limon that has dedicated their land to the preservation of wildlife... [ Animals calling ] ...and to share knowledge with the local community and people from around the world.

Because of their work and the work of the national parks, the rainforest reserves... ♪♪ ...the local and indigenous communities, these animals are thriving in the wild.

And in just a few moments, we're gonna get a chance to meet them and lots more frogs.

♪♪ -"Menghayati!"

-Now it's time for "Creature Craft."

♪♪ -Hey, everybody, it's the Art Nanny here with Grayson.

Say hi, Gray.

-Hello.

-So what we're gonna do today is make our red-eyed tree frog.

They're fun.

And you know where they like to hang out, Gray-jay?

-In the trees.

-Mm-hmm!

So today we're gonna need some crayons, some plain-Jane paper, and your imagination.

So first, let's draw a branch.

Do you know that trees like to say "why?"

So if you make them like little Y's... it looks like tree branches.

Later we'll have time and we'll add some leaves and put them in the jungle.

Alright, so once that's done, what we're gonna do is we're gonna make our tree frog.

We're going to start with a line straight across.

Then we're going to give him two eyes on both sides.

Oh, my goodness.

I love him already.

Okay, so tree frogs have their pupils go vertical so they look like little lines like that.

-Aww.

-And their eyes are red.

♪♪ Wow, they're so brightly colored.

I bet it's to warn off all their predators.

Alright, now I'm gonna work on his body.

I'm going to loop from his mouth, around his eyes... and give him a belly.

[ Gasps ] Oh, he's coming to life.

Okay, so now for his fun legs.

Up and back down.

I'm gonna make mine kind of thick.

I want him to be able to hold on to the branches really securely.

[ Gasps ] He is too cute.

Okay, let's color in the top of his face.

♪♪ I want to go around his eyes a little bit.

Oh, my goodness.

Now, red-eyed tree frogs actually are so colorful that they have orange toes.

So I'm going to draw some toes and give them little fingertips so he can latch on to everything.

Oh, guys.

♪♪ It's so much fun being creative.

Oh, look at him.

He's so cool, Gray.

Did you know that they have a little bit of blue underneath their legs?

They're so beautiful.

[ Gasps ] Look, Gray.

We just made tree frogs.

[ Chuckles ] He's the greatest.

Let's put them in the jungle.

Add some green.

♪♪ Ah, look!

He camouflages in.

Their bellies stay nice and white.

Oh, they're adorable.

♪♪ Very cool, Gray.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed making your red-eyed tree frog.

And remember, always stay creative.

Bye!

-Bye!

♪♪ -Big thanks to the Art Nanny for teaching us how to draw some amazing red-eyed tree frogs out here in the jungle in the South Caribbean of Costa Rica.

-Thank you!

-Thank you!

-And now we're going to meet our friend from San Jose that loves to paint wildlife, including the red-eyed tree frog.

-Thank you!

[ Jet engines roaring ] -Alright, guys, so this is Javier, and he's painting some really cool things.

♪♪ Javier's art stand has been at the San Jose airport for the past 20 years, showcasing the amazing, beautiful wildlife of Costa Rica.

♪♪ Using the technique of watercolor, he has various animals that he showcases through his art, and he paints these animals in their many different colors.

-Está el perezoso, la mariposa morfo, como esta.

-As you can see here, he paints sloths and morpho butterflies.

-...está lista para pintar con muchos colores.

-He even paints quetzals and toucans and macaws.

Through Javier's amazing artwork, you get to see some of the beautiful animals that live right here in Costa Rica.

-That's me!

-So, mucho gusto.

-Bueno.

Mucho gusto.

-Stay tuned.

In just a few moments, we're gonna meet more frogs and learn what you can do to help frogs in your neighborhood.

♪♪ -"Menghayati!"

♪♪ -And now it's time for a brief intermission.

In today's intermission, I want to share with you how important it is to be of service to animals and to creatures.

In today's episode, we got a chance to see the red-eyed tree frog, and it was really amazing to see it out in the wild and in the leaves.

However, the thing is, is that Fernando that works here at the Wildlife Lodge created these awesome spaces for the tree frog right here.

And guess what?

He created these ponds to allow them to lay eggs.

♪♪ So during the dry season, guess what?

The frog can still thrive even when it's dry out... -Thank you!

-...because lately there's been droughts and climate change and different things.

Well, these ponds are actually helping save frogs.

And with that said, we're gonna go on our species adventure and get a chance to meet some frogs actually laying eggs.

So if you're ready, let's go!

During my visit to the Wildlife Lodge, I met many cool travelers and volunteered to walk groups of students and friends out for night walks to go see many animals, including the red-eyed tree frog.

For many of the students and people, it was their first time ever seeing a frog at all in nature, let alone a red-eyed tree frog.

-At the top.

-See its red eyes?

-Oh, yeah.

-We even got a chance to see the eggs of some red-eyed tree frogs that laid them the night before.

Can somebody just hold that light for me?

-Oh, my God.

-These were laid last night.

-From the green tree frog?

-From the red-eyed tree frog.

-Oh, the red-eyed.

-Yup.

I was fortunate enough to get a chance to see the red-eyed tree frog laying eggs, because we used a special infrared light that does not disturb them.

So the frog allowed me to film it laying its eggs.

We were all amazed to see so many animals... [ Animals calling ] ...especially so many red-eyed tree frogs.

-Thank you!

-Thank you!

♪♪ -It was extra special to know that the work they were doing was making a big difference in the lives of visitors, wildlife, and of course, the red-eyed tree frog.

After our amazing adventure at the Wildlife Lodge, we discovered two more projects and some more amazing people that were saving frogs in Limon, including our citizen scientist friend Pepo and our research scientist friends Diego and Jose that helped us find three of the critically endangered lemur frog at the Veragua Rainforest Reserve.

Only this time it was our bonus splendid frog that gave us a super duper surprise.

Whoa!

Look, guys!

Look, look, look, look!

-"Menghayati!"

♪♪ -Hey, you guys.

So I'm so thrilled that this is our second opportunity to see the tiger-leg monkey frog here in Costa Rica.

-Hola.

-Hola.

-And the wonderful thing about this frog is that this frog actually lays the eggs during the day.

The tiger-leg tree frog laying eggs during the day is very interesting because most tree frogs, including the red-eyed tree frog, will lay their eggs at night.

Now we're gonna get to the frogs.

Check it out.

♪♪ Before seeing them lay eggs inside this pail, I met Pepo, who started this amazing project and introduced me to my very first tiger-leg monkey frog.

-Here's one.

Look at these.

-There's one there?

-Look.

-[ Gasps ] No way!

It's there, it's there.

[ Gasps ] No way!

That's so cool.

-[ Indistinct ] It looks like maybe she's ready to lay eggs there.

-Oh, wow.

That's amazing.

As the night went on, Pepo explained to me the reason why they put those pails there for the frogs to lay their eggs.

-When we noticed that this frog was laying the eggs at the swimming pool, next to the swimming pool, we began with a project to conserve them, and we set different buckets nearby the swimming pool to make them a pond near the back entrance of the swimming pool.

-Right.

Right, right.

Thanks to this awesome project and those buckets, hundreds of eggs have been laid and tadpoles raised, and more than 300 frogs have gone back to the wild.

♪♪ We even got an extra special bonus when one of the frogs decided that she'd lay her eggs directly on our camera.

[ Whispering ] The frog's laying eggs on the camera.

♪♪ ♪♪ -"Menghayati!"

♪♪ -Now it's time for a "Creature Quiz."

-Hola, mi nombre es... y mi pregunta es: ¿por qué las ranas tienen los ojos color rojo?

-Why do red-eyed tree frogs have red eyes?

This is a great question.

According to scientists, red-eyed tree frogs have their bright eyes to startle predators when they're sleeping if they suddenly open their eyes.

-Adios.

Adios.

Adios.

Adios.

-Alright, everybody, now it's time for our tree frog "Creature Quiz."

And the first question is, why do we use red lights when we observe creatures at night?

Is it, "A," because they're nocturnal... "B," because their eyes are red... "C," because it doesn't disturb them... or, "D," because it mimics the moonlight?

-Five, four, three, two, one.

-If you guessed "A" and "C," then you're absolutely right.

The red-eyed tree frog is nocturnal and only comes out at nighttime, and so they don't like the light at night.

They don't -- They're not active -- excuse me -- They're not active during the daytime.

They're only active at night.

And when you shine a bright light on them, it does disturb them over a period of time.

And if you shine a light on them, their eyes will close.

Actually, during the episode, we got a chance to see the red-eyed tree frog laying eggs, and if we didn't use that red light, we would not have been able to see the red-eyed tree frog laying eggs at nighttime.

[ Frog ribbits ] So that was pretty cool.

And you just heard the red-eyed tree frog make that sound because he's responding to my voice, so that's really cool.

Question number two: how many lemur frogs did we see with Jose when we went to the Veragua Rainforest Reserve?

Did we see, "A," one lemur frog... "B," three lemur frogs... "C," five lemur frogs... or, "D," 10 lemur frogs?

-Five, four, three, two, one.

-If you answered "B," three lemur frogs, you're absolutely right.

During our trip to the Veragua Rainforest Reserve, we went out with Jose at night time and got a chance to see three lemur frogs in different stages of their life.

Question number three: how to tree frog stick to leaves?

Is it, "A," with nano hairs... "B," with suction cups... "C," with mucus... or, "D," with Velcro?

-Five, four, three, two, one.

-If you guessed "C," with mucus, you're absolutely right.

Red-eyed tree frogs and all tree frogs use their hands to stick to things, and every time they touch something, mucus comes out of their hands.

Just like every time you talk, saliva comes out of your mouth, it's the same thing with the frogs' hands.

Every time they touch something, more and more mucus is coming out of their hands every time.

That's why they're able to stick to surfaces.

Question number four" what types of frogs did we see during today's species adventure?

Was it, "A," the red-eyed tree frog... "B," the tiger-leg monkey frog... "C," the lemur frog... or, "D," the strawberry dart frog?

-Five, four, three, two, one.

-If you guessed "A," "B" and "C," then you're absolutely right.

So the three types of tree frogs that we got a chance to see where the red-eyed tree frog, the lemur frog, and the tiger-leg monkey frog.

And we got to see those in different parts of the South Caribbean, which was really, really awesome.

And again, big thanks to Pepo and Fernando and to Jose and to Diego for helping us find these amazing frogs.

What an amazing adventure!

We got a chance to visit the Wildlife Lodge and learn all about the amazing work they're doing to help educate the local and international community about wildlife... [ Animals calling ] ...including the red-eyed tree frog.

We also got a chance to meet Pepo, who's helping the tiger-leg frog come back to a specific area in the South Caribbean by creating ponds made out of buckets, and of course, our friends at the Veragua Rainforest Reserve that created a special project to help save the critically endangered lemur frog.

And now it's time for us to "Meet the Specialist."

-"Menghayati!"

♪♪ -Alright, everybody, it's time to meet the specialist.

And today's specialists are Jose Salazar and Diego Salas.

-I am biologist, and I work with mammals, especially with mammals.

But I really like plants, so I have some projects with animal-plant interactions.

-During his research with the tent bats, Diego discovered that sometimes the red-eyed tree frog will use the tents to lay their eggs and to get some rest during the day.

And Jose focuses most of his research on frogs.

-So I specialize in frogs.

-Mm-hmm.

-I'm an ecologist, so I mix the ecological projects and I use the frogs as a model in most of my projects.

-Gracias.

-Gracias.

-The work that these guys are doing to help save frogs is just amazing.

[ Animals calling ] The Veragua Foundation, our friend Pepo the citizen scientist, the Rainforest Animals Rescue Group, and our friends at the Wildlife Lodge are all doing an amazing job to help creatures, and they all have just one thing left to say.

-Pura vida!

-Pura vida!

-Pura vida.

Pura vida.

-And remember to always follow your dreams, do what you love, always believe in yourself, and enjoy nature.

Bye for now!

♪♪ -♪ It's time to step outside ♪ It's time to follow your dreams ♪ ♪ It's time to step into nature ♪ ♪ And see things you've never seen ♪ ♪ A quest to love our planet ♪ Like snakes, it's time to uncurl ♪ ♪ The bees and frogs are in danger ♪ ♪ Let's go around the world -Let's go!

♪♪ -Pura vida!

♪♪