Today is a day worth jumping for- its world frog day! These little critters may not be able to turn into a prince, but they are still quite charming.

Frog eyes really stand out
When you stare into those eyes you may notice that they lie on top of their head. This enables frogs to see what’s in front of them, to the side of them, and even what is partially behind them. This gives them an overall field of vision of about 180 degrees and they can use it to detect both prey and predators. Their eyes also help them in an unusual way- to swallow their food. After a frog catches its prey it blinks and while doing so it sucks its eyes into the roof of its mouth to push the food down. How crazy is that?

Just breathe
Frogs also have an unusual way of breathing. While many of us breathe through our nose and mouth frogs breathe through their skin! This amazing ability allows them to stay underwater for an indefinite amount of time. This can be useful when a predator wants to eat you.

Meet Edgar
In honor of world frog day our ambassador of the month is Edgar the pacman frog. Unlike other frogs that actively pursue their prey the pacman frog has another approach. These bury themselves partially and wait for the food to come to them. Then, when an unsuspecting tasty bug gets close enough it jumps out and eats it! The pacman frog has a voracious appetite and will eat just about anything that in fit into its mouth, which is about half the size of its body.

Frogs Are Great

These wonderful creatures play a very important role in local ecosystems. They eat bugs and are an important part of the food chain as well. Frogs most certainly do their part to help the environment, so lets help them. Avoiding pesticides is just one great way to help frogs.  Take this day to appreciate frogs and to tell others how wonderful they are.