Paignton Zoo share news of successful breeding programme
The Thao whipping frog has just bred at Paignton Zoo for the very first time.
Like so many species of exotic frog, this one goes by different names. It’s the Thao whipping frog, Fea’s tree frog, or Fea's flying frog.
The whipping part of the name comes from the way the females use their back legs to whip up foam to make a nest for their eggs Thao comes from the Thao river, which flows through China and Vietnam. The Thao whipping frog is found in parts of China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.
Senior Paignton Zoo keeper Dr Katy Upton says: “This is our first time breeding them. We raised the temperatures by a couple of degrees and moved them into a larger specialist breeding enclosure, then increased the humidity and sprays. The enclosure is half water with a land area planted with bamboo and large bamboo canes for them to sit on. Within a couple of days of being in this enclosure they spawned! There are other collections working with this species – this is not a UK first but it is still another great achievement for Paignton Zoo!”
It is one of the largest tree frogs in the world, known as a flying frog, but it can't actually fly.
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