A quick learning for kids, along with lots of fun and joy. If you like the work please like and subscride the channel. Your appreciations are much needed
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00They hop. They jump. Some of them stick to windows. Frogs! Frogs come in many different
00:11shapes, sizes, and colors, and can be found almost anywhere in the world. Add to that
00:20one of the most interesting life cycles on earth, and it's no wonder that people everywhere
00:26are fascinated by frogs.
00:39You're watching FreeSchool!
00:46With their short, smooth bodies, bulging eyes, and webbed feet tucked neatly underneath, frogs
00:55are easily recognized. They are often green or brown, but are sometimes brightly colored
01:05instead. Some drier, bumpier specimens, like this little fellow, are called toads, but
01:14toads are actually part of the frog family, too. Frogs are predators, and eat many kinds
01:22of insects, as well as invertebrates like slugs, snails, and worms. Their large eyes
01:30are very sensitive to movement, and help them locate their prey. Once spotted, its meal
01:38has little chance to escape. In less than a second, the frog's long, sticky tongue flicks
01:46out of its mouth, sticks to its prey, and rolls back into the frog's mouth. So long, worm!
01:57Although we often see them on land, frogs are most at home in the water, and the reason
02:03for that is in their biology. Frogs are amphibians, or small vertebrates that rely on a wet environment
02:13to survive. With more than 7,000 known species of frog, they make up 88% of all known amphibians.
02:26Unlike fish, which must stay in the water to breathe, amphibians have lungs, and can
02:32collect their oxygen from the air. But they do it in a peculiar way. Frogs can breathe
02:41through their skin. As long as their thin, delicate skin stays moist, oxygen from the
02:50air can pass directly through it into their bloodstream. If necessary, they can breathe
02:57through their nose and mouth. But compared to us, their lungs are poorly developed, and
03:03breathing this way is just not efficient. If a frog gets too dry, it can die from lack
03:10of oxygen. For this reason, few frogs will stray too far from a source of water. This
03:21special skin allows frogs to breathe underwater as well. Frogs can stay underwater for hours
03:28at a time under normal conditions. During hibernation, when their body slows down, some
03:36frogs may stay underwater for months. Frogs can be found on every continent except
03:45for Antarctica. Like reptiles, they are cold-blooded, and rely on their environment to maintain
03:52their body temperature. With very rare exceptions, frogs cannot survive in salty water or desert
04:01conditions. Although some frogs have adapted to survive freezing winters, most species
04:09of frogs live in tropical rainforests. Some of these frogs, native to tropical Central
04:19and South America, have a special ability. They are called poison dart frogs, and they
04:28are among the most poisonous living creatures on earth. They are small, even for frogs.
04:38Some of the smallest are only about half an inch or one centimeter in length, about the
04:43size of a thumbnail. The largest are only about 2.4 inches or 6 centimeters long. There
04:53are more than 100 different species of these frogs. Poison dart frogs secrete toxins through
05:00their skin. If a predator eats or sometimes only touches one of these frogs, it can get
05:07sick and die. Their bright colors and bold patterns shout a warning to would-be predators.
05:15Don't eat me! I'm poisonous!
05:23Even less brightly colored frogs capture our attention for another reason. They are famous
05:29for their fascinating life cycle. Every frog begins as an egg. Frog's eggs do not have
05:39a shell, like the eggs of birds or reptiles. Instead, these eggs, called frog spawn, have
05:49a jelly-like appearance. With no shell to keep them from drying out, frog eggs must
05:57be kept moist. As a result, they are usually laid in slow-moving fresh water, but can also
06:06be laid on leaves, in swamps, or in foamy nests.
06:14After a few weeks, the eggs hatch, producing young that look very different than their
06:20parents. They are called tadpoles, and right now they look more like fish than frogs. They
06:31are similar to fish in some ways. They have gills and must stay in the water to breathe
06:37until their lungs develop. Over the next few months, they will grow legs, develop lungs,
06:48lose their tails, and begin to explore the world outside their watery homes. This change
06:56is called metamorphosis, meaning a transformation. Once the tadpoles have completed their transformation
07:06into frogs, they are free to explore dry land, as long as it's not too dry.
07:14Due to their small size and general harmlessness, frogs are popular with people looking to
07:27observe nature a bit more closely. Some people even keep frogs as pets. If you're ready
07:37to go look for frogs where you live, check carefully around ponds, streams, or other
07:43bodies of fresh water. Unfortunately, these fascinating amphibians are under threat.
07:51Pollution and loss of habitat may drive many species of frogs to extinction. If you want
07:58to help frogs, make sure that you do not use pesticides or other chemicals in your yard.
08:06Add native plants that can give frogs places to hide, and attract the insects that they
08:11love to eat. And, if you really want more frogs in your yard, you can add a small frog
08:20pond to give them a place to live.
08:26I hope you enjoyed learning about frogs today. Goodbye till next time!