# Wild Imitator Daddy



## ncc2015 (Aug 4, 2011)

Not really a question or anything but I just found this video when browsing through youtube and it is so cute. Shows how the daddy takes care of his babies in the wild. You also get to here him call for the female. It's pretty interesting. It's nice to see how they do things naturally when not in captivity.


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## shibbyplustax (Feb 28, 2011)

great post


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## ncc2015 (Aug 4, 2011)

Thanks I was hoping others would enjoy it. I couldn't stop saying "awww" in my head when they kept showing the fatty tadpole. It makes me want to start breeding in the future when I get more experienced.


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## momkris (Jul 27, 2011)

Very cool. I have green imitators just like that and we have a
bout 13 tadpoles right now.


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## ncc2015 (Aug 4, 2011)

Oh really that's great. I hope they're growing up big and strong for you. It must be very exciting to watch them grow. 




momkris said:


> Very cool. I have green imitators just like that and we have a
> bout 13 tadpoles right now.


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## johnc (Oct 9, 2009)

Most or all of that imitator footage wasn't filmed in the wild. It was filmed in my friend Mark's home in Bristol, England. He's one of the administrators on my forum Caudata.org. If you look at the credits for that episode he's in the thanks list.


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## billschwinn (Dec 17, 2008)

johnc said:


> Most or all of that imitator footage wasn't filmed in the wild. It was filmed in my friend Mark's home in Bristol, England. He's one of the moderators on my forum Caudata.org. If you look at the credits for that episode he's in the thanks list.


Well someone just got the wind knocked out of their sails!


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

johnc said:


> Most or all of that imitator footage wasn't filmed in the wild. It was filmed in my friend Mark's home in Bristol, England. He's one of the moderators on my forum Caudata.org. If you look at the credits for that episode he's in the thanks list.


Say it isn't so! I love that video and made all of my nieces watch it.


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## johnc (Oct 9, 2009)

Actually when I started getting acquainted with the behind the scenes work in the last few BBC nature documentaries, I got very disenchanted with the whole nature film-making process. 

However, in recent years I've done some amateur videography of amphibians in the wild (nothing public yet) and it really is surprisingly complicated to film in wild conditions. Much more difficult than photographing amphibians in the wild. 

Lighting is a huge challenge. Sound has to be recorded separately in most cases and it needs a lot of processing. Film sequences have to be set-up in advance, and choreographed. And then you have to get the animals to be in the right place, at the right time, doing what you want them to do.

Many behaviors, including dart frogs feeding tadpoles, are so much more accessible if filmed in a terrarium under controlled conditions. Not to mention the fact that the BBC didn't have to send a crew to Peru just to film that sequence.

The only aspect of these films that bugs me still is the fact that the audio is by-and-large completely artificial (i.e. it wasn't recorded at the time the footage was taken).


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## johnc (Oct 9, 2009)

frogface said:


> Say it isn't so! I love that video and made all of my nieces watch it.


LOL I wish it were not the case. If you like, I can ask Mark to say something here .


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## jackxc925 (Dec 22, 2007)

johnc said:


> Actually when I started getting acquainted with the behind the scenes work in the last few BBC nature documentaries, I got very disenchanted with the whole nature film-making process.
> 
> However, in recent years I've done some amateur videography of amphibians in the wild (nothing public yet) and it really is surprisingly complicated to film in wild conditions. Much more difficult than photographing amphibians in the wild.
> 
> ...


I knew something was up when the video showed that great footage of the frog and tad together in the brom. That's definitely impossible without a studio


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## ncc2015 (Aug 4, 2011)

Oh really that's really interesting. I guess you learn something new every day. That really makes me wonder if other documentaries on discovery channel/animal planet etc. are not really all in the wild but in controlled environments. Either way I definitely enjoyed watching it.


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## R1ch13 (Apr 16, 2008)

Hey all.

I had a feeling that this was filmed in a viv as I am sure I spotted a FF pupal case sitting on one of the brom leaves.

None the less I still love this video, and watch it over and over as I have it on DVD.

John, do you care to share who Mark is? 

Wouldn't mind getting my hands on some Nominal Imis 

Cheers,
Richie


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## R1ch13 (Apr 16, 2008)

At 3.17 in the video you can see what I always suspected were FF pupal cases.

Also the fact that Neoregelia species are native to Brazil made me think this was an in tank job... 

Again John, do you care to share how they go about filming those "in axil" shots?

Cheers,
Richie


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## MarkAT (Aug 13, 2011)

My ears are burning over here in Bristol 

The final sequence is made up of a combination of footage shot in the Peruvian jungle and footage shot in captivity in the UK. The BBC originally wanted to film the entire sequence at Jason Brown’s imitator study site in Peru but lighting was not ideal under the jungle canopy. Using artificial lighting on the wild frogs made them very camera shy so after a couple of weeks of trying they decided to revert to plan b - film them in captivity back in the UK. That’s where I came in.

Obtaining nominate imitators was the first problem as at the time there were none for sale in the UK but with a little help we acquired some from Germany. The second problem was that the frogs were the size of peas when they arrived. I was given around 6 months to grow them to adult size and get them breeding. Jason sent me recordings of imitators calling in the wild and these were played daily to the growing frogs in the hope they would be inspired. The first tadpole they deposited was actually the one filmed being fed in the sequence. Fortunately it was in a brom near the front of the vivarium. Once breeding, the fun began – trying to figure out when the feeding behaviour would take place wasn't easy. I set up a web cam pointing at the brom from which the BBC could observe the feeding regime remotely. When the time was right Alistair McEwan (a well respected wildlife macro specialist camera man) camped out with the frogs to capture the sequence. The viv doors were removed and a clear plastic bag gaffer taped to the front of the viv. A hole was cut for the camera lens and gaffer taped in place. The frogs would regularly hop into the bag to explore and even crawl across the front of the lens! The viv was lit with a couple of T5 tubes and during filming extra spot lights were used. It was a magic moment when the feeding sequence was finally captured. Alistair hadn’t slept in a bed for many days… The shots inside the bromeliad were filmed in small glass containers with half a bromeliad vase inserted and secured in place with expanding foam. Other shots of tadpoles on male backs and skin shots were filmed a few weeks later with different lenses. 

Glad you enjoyed the sequence. They are great little frogs.


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## johnc (Oct 9, 2009)

I thought it best to ask the man himself to speak. Thanks Mark!

By the way, he forgot to say but Mark doesn't keep imitator any more Richie.


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## R1ch13 (Apr 16, 2008)

Both John and Mark, thank you very much for the info.

I have always racked my brains on how they would do those in axil thoughts so its good to finally know.

Its a great shame you don't keep the Nominat Imis anymore, they are so uncommon here now.

Regards,
Richie


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## Mitch (Jun 18, 2010)

Wow, coolest thread I've seen here in a while!!! Not very often we get frog-celebrities around here!


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