A group of us had just seated ourselves for lunch at the dining area of Madre Selva Biological Preserve on the Rio Orosa of Amazonian Peru. We had spent most of the morning photographing herps and were discussing what trails we would walk following the meal. A few yards down slope were the waters of a small, quiet inlet.

Suddenly, all talked stopped. A small Suriname toad, Pipa pipa, had just surfaced in the center of the inlet. Action was nearly immediate. Segundo went out one door shedding clothes as he ran. Ian ran out another door. The contest was on. May the best (or at least the fastest) man win!



Segundo hit the silted water from one side and Ian from the other, but either Segundo’s leap had been longer or the toad had been a bit closer to his launching point. When he left the water Segundo was gently clutching the toad, one of the strangest of Amazon amphibians.