AMERICAN BULLFROG

1. AMERICAN BULLFROG This big bullfrog sings baritone in the outdoor choir of the night - you may hear his song while visiting O’Bannon Woods State Park in Southern Indiana.

2. Singing in the Swamp…. The bullfrog’s deep-pitched call can be heard ¼ mile away!!

3. Froggy went a courtin’! He sings to attract females.

4. What does it look like?? • The Rana genus of frog species is considered “true” frogs with moist skin, slim waists and slender legs to enhance jumping ability. The largest of this species is the American Bullfrog, growing up to 8 inches. It can be dark brown, green gray, light olive or yellow green. It’s belly is cream colored, and males have yellow throats during the breeding season. Feet are fully webbed except for longest toe.

5. Where does it live?? American Bullfrog is aquatic and lives in ponds, lakes, marshes and backwaters of large streams. It can be found from Canada to South America and throughout the Midwest. Bullfrogs indigenous to section colored in yellow..

6. What does it eat?? • The American Bullfrog is a carnivore and will eat anything it can swallow, even snakes, birds, salamanders, bats and OTHER FROGS!!

7. What about tadpoles?? • Bullfrogs are prolific breeders. Females lay as many as 20,000 eggs in the water. They join together in a floating mass called a “clutch”. Most of the eggs are eaten by predators, and the ones that hatch in 3-5 days are eaten in huge numbers. The lucky survivors experience metamorphosis in a few months (warmer climates) or up to a few years (colder climates). The usual lifespan of a bullfrog is 4-5 years, but some can thrive for as long as 8-10 years! Bullfrog chillin’ on a lilypad.

8. More about tadpoles…. • The bullfrog tadpole is easy to spot, as it is quite large compares to adult frogs of other species. Bullfrog tadpoles are mostly herbivorous. However, they occasionally eat eggs and newly hatched tadpoles! Survival is difficult, but they have some skills that help. They have brown speckled skin that hides them on the muddy pond bottom, and they have long tails to give them the ability to swim rapidly away from predators. • Interesting fact: Bullfrog tadpoles have the ability to re-grow their tail if it is lost to a predator!

9. Becoming a frog…..one step at a time!

10. Predators • Water snakes, snapping turtles, large fish, heron, opossums, skunks, raccoons and humans are predators that hunt and kill American bullfrogs.

11. Frog legs for dinner?? • Many restaurants feature frog legs as a delicious entrée. As Timon says in Disney’s THE LION KING, “It tastes like chicken!” Have you every tried it??

12. Frog farms…… • The American bullfrog is the most frequently cultivated edible frog in the world. Locally, frogs are currently being raised at Twin Willows Farm in Logansport, IN. • Frogs are raised to the age of two, then are sold as a food product…. or as a science product.

13. DID YOU KNOW??? • American Bullfrogs can now be found as far west as California where they are feeding on the native frogs, endangering their existence. • The American bullfrog is indigenous to Eastern United States. In the 1890’s Californians decided to import bullfrogs to help feed frog-loving gold miners. • The bullfrogs found their way into the wild and have wreaked havoc on the frog population ever since, driving over 100 species of native frogs to extinction. • SAVE THE FROGS is a non-profit organization dedicated to amphibian conservation and is working to control the population of the American bullfrog in the western states. • If you would like to have a bullfrog for your newly built pond or landscaping water attraction….be patient. If you build it, they will come! Never introduce a species of frog to your pond that is not indigenous to the area!!

14. It’s not easy being green! • Just remember….