Why frogs with poison that paralyze have become a ‘solution’ to drug trafficking in Colombia

“When we export them, we keep in mind that they go to a better place”, says the center’s operational director, Alejandra Curubo.

In the case of escape, frogs like these “could not adapt outside the controlled conditions of the terrarium or inside a house”, unlike other animals, explains Curubo. For example, the bullfrog, one of the 100 most aggressive invasive species, or the unwanted mongoose in Hawaii.

Some frogs have already traveled more than 5 thousand kilometers from Colombia to Michael Heinrichs’ terrarium, in Colorado, in the United States. He has a “small” collection of 40 specimens in a place he defines as his “zen place” and isolated, as croaking “would drive his wife crazy”.

“I can easily spend an hour watching the frogs, it’s a calm and very calming place”, says the 65-year-old man over the phone, who has already paid up to a thousand dollars for a frog (value of 5,690 reais at the current price).

The amphibians leave the Colombian reservoir with a “fingerprint” to distinguish them from trafficked ones, sent to authorities and buyers to prevent “frog swapping” or fraud, says Lozano, an expert in endangered species management.

In its catalogue, prices vary due to international market regulations. The “Phyllobates terribilis”, known as the golden frog, for example, went from US$ 150 (value of R$ 853 at the current price) to around US$ 40 currently (value of R$ 227 at the current price).