Photo/Illutration Cobalt poison dart frogs at KawaZoo in Kawazu, Shizuoka Prefecture (Toshiyuki Takeya)

Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show how the animals view their world as they interact.

Also visit our special 360-DEGREE LIVES page (http://t.asahi.com/360lives), where you can watch all the previous videos.

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With its bright blue body mottled with black, the cobalt poison dart frog is hailed as a “jewel of the rainforest” for its beauty.

However, as its name suggests, such frogs in nature possess a deadly neurotoxin.

Ten are on display at KawaZoo, a facility in Kawazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, which specializes in frogs.

There are about 200 varieties of poison dart frogs around the world, sporting bright colors such as red, blue and yellow. In fact, their colorful appearance serves as a warning to predators that they are toxic.

The cobalt poison dart frog mainly lives near the border areas of southern Suriname and Brazil. It is known as one of the most beautiful frogs in the world, growing to about 3 to 4 centimeters long. As it has no webbing, it is a poor swimmer.

According to breeding staff member Natsumi Yabata, poison dart frogs are named after the fact that local hunters rubbed their poison on arrowheads to hunt.

These frogs have alkaloid toxins. It is said that the golden poison frog, which secretes batrachotoxin, one of the most potent toxins in nature, has enough poison to kill an elephant.

About 20 varieties of poison dart frogs can be seen in glass enclosures at KawaZoo.

“They are not poisonous, so you can touch them,” Yabata said.

In nature, poison dart frogs eat toxic termites, mites and other creatures, absorbing their toxicity and secreting the venom from the skin. But in captivity, as they are fed non-toxic food, they pose no threat, she added.