Say hello to the Backpack Frog – one of the most incredible animals I’ve had the privilege of photographing!

Found only in a small pocket of northern Colombia, they’re one of the most unique amphibians on the planet.

Typically in nature, animals will either give birth to live young (called ‘viviparity’ – literally ‘live production’), or they will lay eggs from which the offspring hatch at a later date (called ‘oviparity’ – literally ‘egg production’). However, a small number of creatures such as the Backpack Frog have evolved a unique hybrid form of reproduction known as ovoviviparity.

When Backpack Frogs are mating, the male sticks dozens of freshly fertilised eggs on the female’s back, which slowly develop into frogs. If you look at image below, you can even see the tiny eyes of the future frogs within the eggs!

Even more incredibly, Backpack Frog babies completely skip the ‘tadpole’ stage that most other frogs go through, hatching into small froglets which the mother continues to carry around on her back until they are ready to venture into the world on their own.

Sadly, Backpack Frogs are classified as threatened, and their populations are decreasing due to agricultural development, logging and infrastructure expansion in the small region which they’re found.

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Backpack Frog (Cryptobatrachus boulengeri), Minca, Colombia