Zoo #42 – Poison Dart Frog

A sideways look at age, Colin McQueen - writer, Getting Older, Hobbies, Humour, My Life, Poetry, Real life through the kaleidoscope of age 1 Minute

The poison dart frog has a many-hued coat
That you really wouldn’t want to have stuck in your throat

It has always puzzled me why a tiny little frog should contain enough poison to kill ten fully grown adult humans.  What on earth is nature trying to protect them against?  A dinner party?  Ten French people willing to munch five to a leg?  I understand in nature that bright colours warn of toxicity, so why aren’t butterflies weaponised?  Why do Black Widow Spiders carry enough venom to kill a human, when all they need to see off is a fly?  What’s more, if you’re a spider a spider who has just killed a fly with sufficient venom to bring down a human, how do you then eat it without suffering the consequences?  How did nature choose the venomous?  Why did she miss politicians?  Thank God she did…

BTW in case you ever wondered, a frog in the throat is a simple literal allusion to the fact that you sound croaky.

P.S. I do understand the difference between poisonous and venomous – although I’m not convinced that the frog does.

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26 thoughts on “Zoo #42 – Poison Dart Frog”

  2. Subtly wordplayed again Colin, so I’ll offer my congrats…
    You are a deathly scarily knowledgable bloke
    When it comes to ways to wildlife ways to croak.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I never realised there was any difference between Poison and Venom. Nature handed over most of the venom to politicians. They release it in the body of masses of people using their tongues–active offensive. The rest of animal kind is mostly poisonous, passive-defence. I’ve heard that frogs legs are a rave in political parties. I guess, nature is trying populace control in venomous creatures.

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  6. When you get to a certain age the difference between poison and venom mean very little. But if you really want know A thing is poisonous if you eat it and die. it is venomous when it bites you and you die, You can eat a rattlesnake, In fact they are tasty. but don’t let one bite you. They are venomous
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    Live Love Laugh

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