David Withrington - How they live: Learn All There Is to Know About Animals!

The life of amphibians begins in water. This is where they reproduce and live as young, which means that fresh waters are vital for this animal group. As adults they return to water only during the breeding season, though a few species stay there for their whole life. As youngsters they breathe with gills; when they become adults, they use lungs for breathing. Amphibians even breathe through their skin, which is why we should not touch them, as this may damage their skin. They protect their sensitive skin from drying out by hiding in dark, damp places, and avoiding the sun. They are also active during rain, when they leave their hiding places to look for small animals to feed on.

In the spring they make their way to ponds in order to breed. At this time they are vulnerable to road traffic, and toads often end up under the wheels of cars. Many wetlands in the countryside have been drained by man, destroying the amphibians traditional breeding areas. So, we can make up for this a little bit by creating ponds in our gardens. Pesticides also kill many amphibians, since they are ground animals and cannot avoid the poisons in agriculture. Amphibians have more or less disappeared from areas of intensive agriculture.

there are still chunks of ice floating in the water when the Common Frog (Rana temporaria) begins to mate in early spring. The males cling to the females who are depositing spawn joined together into jelly balls, in which black dots the frog embryos can be seen.

have released a large amount of spawn into this pond in a floodplain forest. However, only a small percentage of the tadpoles will grow into adults. Sometimes the pool will dry up and seal the fate of its inhabitants, and many of the tadpoles and young frogs will be killed by predators.

are this size when they leave their native pond. From now on, they will return to the water only during the mating season. If you have a garden pond, you must be careful on those mid-summer days when the young frogs are leaving, as they are literally crawling through the grass. During this time the lawn should not be mowed, in case the young frogs are killed under the mower. Also, you should wet your hands before touching an amphibian otherwise you could damage its delicate skin.

(Rana esculenta) are loyal to the water year-long. If they live in your garden pond, they will entertain you in the spring and summer with their songs and endearing behaviour. The females are slightly bigger than the males. Edible Frogs spend the winter at the bottom of ponds, covered in mud, so the garden pond should be more than 60 centimetres deep and the bottom should be covered by a layer of mud at least 15 centimetres thick.

(Rana arvalis) is another member of the family of true frogs. During the mating period, the males develop a typical bright blue colouration, which lasts for only a few days before reverting to the normal brown colour. They breed in large groups in wet lowland meadows and in floodplain forests. However, suitable habitats are on a steady decline, which means that this species is now becoming endangered..

(Bufo bufo) is one of the most important inhabitants of the garden. It feeds on pests like slugs and woodlice, which is why clever gardeners encourage it with garden huts, underneath which it spends its days, coming out to feed in the night-time. The female is larger than the male. In springtime it lays spawn in strips that become tangled in the underwater vegetation.

(Hyla arborea) is a tree frog found in continental Europe. It can climb up into the crown of a tall tree. Not only does it feel safer in the branches, but it can hunt for its insect prey. Historically, tree frogs were used as barometers. When they croaked from high up, rain was predicted, and, when their croaking came from the ground, the forecast was good weather. People would even put them in jars containing sticks, and predicted the weather by their chosen position at the top or the bottom of the jar ...

(Bombina variegata) lives all over Slovenia, except for the Pannonian Plain in the east, where its place is taken by a close relative, the Fire-bellied Toad. A cute little animal, it lives in the muddy puddles of field paths and in forest pools. The Yellow-bellied Toad emits typical sad calls, whose direction is sometimes difficult to locate. It has a camouflage colour on top, but its belly has bright warning colours. In the face of danger, it secretes an unpleasantly scented slimy substance which repels predators.