An adult mountain chicken frog can grow to about 21 centimetres long — roughly the length of your foot — and weigh up to 900 grams, which is almost as heavy as a bag of sugar. With long, powerful back legs, it is an excellent jumper. Its skin is a mottled brown, which helps it blend in with dead leaves and muddy ground.
Mountain chickens are unusual frogs because instead of laying eggs in water, the female lays her eggs in a burrow in damp soil. She stays with the eggs, and when the tadpoles hatch, she feeds them with unfertilised eggs she produces especially for them — like bringing them snacks. The father guards the burrow entrance the whole time.
Mountain chicken frogs are now very rare and protected by law in Dominica. Scientists work hard to raise them safely and study how to help wild populations grow. Because Dominica is one of only two places on Earth where they live, Dominicans feel a special responsibility to protect them.