It's not easy being red

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Zoo has a new exhibit that looks like a tomato. It is an animal, though - a tomato frog native to the island of Madagascar.

The zoo says the frog looks like a ripe, red tomato, but certainly is not edible.

When threatened, the frog puffs itself up to appear larger. If that doesn't work, it secretes a white, sticky toxic substance.

The zoo says the frogs are targets of poachers and also susceptible to pesticides and detergents in the irrigation water that runs into the ditches they inhabit.

So, zoos and conservation groups are undertaking efforts to educate the public in hopes of keeping the frog from going extinct.
     
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