This is a poison dart frog. Males raise their young in a very special way. A father will place each one of his tadpoles in its own tiny pool of water. This is one – nice and safe. He might have up to five other tadpoles… ..but he needs to remember where he put each one of them. This one isn’t doing so well. His tiny puddle has all but dried out. The tadpole will die unless its father can find a better place for it. If dads are good for one thing, it’s piggyback rides. Fathers are no bigger than a human thumbnail, but this enables them to get to places that others can’t. This could be perfect. The only problem is that there’s no food here. Fathers need help. Somewhere in this forest… ..is… Mum. A female could do something a male cannot. But first, Dad must lead his partner to their hungry tadpole. And Mother deals with the problem. She lays a single unfertilised egg. And her tadpole gets a much-needed meal. For the next six weeks, parents continue their rounds – an extraordinary test of teamwork and memory.
