Active Self Defense

The New Guinea Bush Frog (Asterophrys turpicola) is a frog after my own heart. Native to Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, this frog isn't a pushover.

If it's threatened, it will inflate itself and gape its mouth--all the better to expose its blue tongue. If that doesn't drive off the predator, then the frog attacks. It'll leap at its foe and latch on with its mouth, often not letting go for several minutes.

My eleven-month-old son has similar defensive abilities, though he adds a screech and the occasional spray of spit-up to his arsenal. His sisters have learned to catch him unawares by approaching from behind, downwind, while one of them distracts him by waving one of his favorite toys at him. Then they pounce and get in a quick hug and snuggle, before he resorts to pulling hair and going after their fingers with his new-found teeth.

Photo source: vespadelus