The Strangest Things in the World: A Book About Extraordinary Manifestations of NatureHenry, Thomas R. (Thomas Robert)
History
The Strangest Things in the World: A Book About Extraordinary Manifestations of Nature
Henry, Thomas R. (Thomas Robert)
Animal behavior; Natural history
“More and more snow fell and the hut was more and more hidden under the
white blanket. Sometimes I noticed that the fox had gone to the top of
the dome and evidently sat there for a while. Near where he had sat
was a hole in the snow about half a foot in diameter and with thin ice
around the edge. I found that the hole widened downward and ended on
the roof of the lodge. At the bottom the hole was at least two feet in
diameter and its walls were hard as ice. From this hole or chimney rose
warm steam, and the twigs and mud on the roof felt warm and damp to my
hand.”
_The Demon of Puerto Rico_
In deep sunless ravines of Puerto Rico’s Pandura mountains dwells the
demon frog. It is a ghostly voice from mountainsides strewn with great,
decomposing granite boulders and so thickly covered with tropical vines
and bushes that it is almost impenetrable to man. Until twenty years
ago it was only a voice, for none of the strange little creatures ever
had been seen. The mere sight of the animal, according to many of the
natives, would be fatal.
“One might as well try to bribe a mountaineer to catch a ghost as
a guajone. There is a strange quality in the voice which probably
is largely responsible for the superstitious dread of the mountain
people,” according to Smithsonian Institution biologist Gerrit S.
Miller, Jr.
“It is strange enough when heard from the surface,” Miller reports,
“but it becomes even more strange after one has climbed down into
the irregular and dangerous openings, which prove to be much larger
and more cavernous than the surface appearance, with its dense and
deceptive covering of vegetation, could lead one to expect. With
flashlights the frogs are easily found and caught as they crawl slowly
over the damp, but not slippery surface of the granite.
“To the natives they are objects of dread. One man said they were about
a foot long and armed with frightful teeth. Another assured me that
anybody who saw one would die shortly afterwards. No offer of money
could induce the boys or men to go into the cavities in search of them.”
The little creature is fantastic in appearance, chiefly due to its
large protruding eyes. The edge of the eyelid is white, making a thin
white line around the eye. The iris is back and gold. The skin is
light brown above and nearly white underneath, but some specimens have
blotches of yellow which add to the weird appearance.
Living as they do in the semi-darkness of mountain gullies, little
is known of the life history and habits of these strange creatures.
The most notable characteristic of several specimens kept alive for
observation was the peculiar singing in a liquid note repeated six or
seven times. It can best be imitated by whistling. This singing is
believed to be part of the courtship behavior of males.
The demon frog has been given the scientific name of Eleutherodactylus
cooki. It appears to have been especially adapted for life among the
boulders of its restricted habitat.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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