- Joined
- Jul 3, 2021
- Messages
- 123
- Reaction score
- 75
- Country
So, I've taken pride with all the green frogs that have taken up residence in my pond and decided to breed there, along with all the tadpoles that have successfully morphed into a fingernail-sized frog and climbed out to experience life, and during breeding season, inundated with wood and gray frogs and their tadpoles that grew up too.
Have 2 resident male greenfrogs, that have territory at opposite ends of the pond. I'll mimic them with a "ruuump, ruump, ruuuuuump, ewhooo?.... ewhoo ewhoo?" which is funny as they'll then start up, sometimes even with each other (fyi, many frogs will respond to crude impersonations and calls from other frogs, even if fake or audio recording; birds are the same way).
So usually every day, I'll go out, walk up to the pond, call out to the males that are either in a rock crevice or in their territory waiting on their girlfriend to come over. They'll usually call back, then I'm off to fix/rebuild something the previous homeowner neglected for the last 25 years. Other times I'll grab a few earth worms and toss them near the shore or onto the lily pads, which will usually cause said stoic frogs to break character and gobble it up, sometimes within a second of it hitting the ground. Other times they'll pull one into the water, akin to an alligator waiting near a shore. Lily pads they'll just pop up from under the surface and ambush the poor worm.
Well, Thursday I did my call out routine, scanned the pond to find where everyone was at, then a double take. In the area where the one green frog male has been for about the last 2 months, was the biggest bullfrog I think I've ever seen in person, resting on the green frog's log! First thought was "oh no." Guessing he was a few years old at least, and probably in excess of 8" and probably double that if including the legs. Then a certain fear crept in. How many green frogs did he eat? Is the bullfrog fungus in the pond now? Followed by a surreal sensation that this giant frog's appearance and guinea pig-sized head with giant eyes elicited. Easily spooked, it swam under the crystal clear water and I watched it hide at the OPPOSITE end.
Anyhow, panic set in. I quickly built a net handle out of 3/4" plastic conduit, had some webbing material to meant to protect trees from deer, and about 8' of scrap house electrical wire. Ran the cable through every other hole of the netting material, formed a hoop, jammed two pieces of conduit together, then forced the 2 ends of cable into the conduit and homemade, 12' frog net was created.
Knowing I could catch him at night with a flashlight was last resort. Catching him then and there was a priority. Only he was more elusive than you'd think. Guessing with size and age, comes inherent bumps in intelligence. He popped up from a lilly pad, I put net over him. He went under water. I lifted net, he popped right back up in the same spot! Like, you have to be kidding. Remember thinking this frog has a pair! After a few more attempts around the pond, eventually he refused to surface in the open. Decided to wait until dark, and using a 3000 lumen LED in a clamp lamp with extension cord, I immediately spot him on a gravel path that runs right next to the pond outer banking. Cord gets snagged, so I set the lamp down. He hears the clank and gets spooked, ignores the lighting and hops closer to the banking. Quickly unsnag and turn around, he's gone. 20 minutes go by searching the perimeter, and can't find him. Might as well be daylight I'm shining. Can easily spot 3" green frogs in 10" of grass, but not some NBA player-sized bullfrog. He apparently snuck back into the pond and I eventually spot him at the OPPOSITE end again. To put it into perspective, he heard the clank, moved, when I wasn't looking, jumped back onto the banking with the high grass, hopped 6' down a slope, silently entered the water vs. a plop, then swam to the opposite end of where he entered! Felt like I was trying to corner a field mouse in an old barn.
Now knowing what was at stake, I kept the light high, akin to a spotlight, aimed in his general direction and quietly walked the perimeter. Untested net in hand, light in other, made sure to keep it on him (for those unaware, light at night, even from a cell phone, when shined on or towards basically any frog, either blinds them or causes them to freeze, similar to a deer in headlights making catching by hand possible) and very carefully popped the net on him. Took him a full second to react. Next thing I know, he's fighting the net like a small mouth bass on the line. Couldn't believe the strength this guy had. Waited a minute for him tire out, then WELL away from the pond, got him into a 5 gallon and quickly snapped the lid on it. Probably 2 hours spent catching this sneaky bugger.
Was definitely worth catching and the learning experience. Had yet to hear him call him out, so looks like he was still settling in by himself. Been watching pond like a hawk and so far no others for now. And the greenfrog got to keep his home!
Have 2 resident male greenfrogs, that have territory at opposite ends of the pond. I'll mimic them with a "ruuump, ruump, ruuuuuump, ewhooo?.... ewhoo ewhoo?" which is funny as they'll then start up, sometimes even with each other (fyi, many frogs will respond to crude impersonations and calls from other frogs, even if fake or audio recording; birds are the same way).
So usually every day, I'll go out, walk up to the pond, call out to the males that are either in a rock crevice or in their territory waiting on their girlfriend to come over. They'll usually call back, then I'm off to fix/rebuild something the previous homeowner neglected for the last 25 years. Other times I'll grab a few earth worms and toss them near the shore or onto the lily pads, which will usually cause said stoic frogs to break character and gobble it up, sometimes within a second of it hitting the ground. Other times they'll pull one into the water, akin to an alligator waiting near a shore. Lily pads they'll just pop up from under the surface and ambush the poor worm.
Well, Thursday I did my call out routine, scanned the pond to find where everyone was at, then a double take. In the area where the one green frog male has been for about the last 2 months, was the biggest bullfrog I think I've ever seen in person, resting on the green frog's log! First thought was "oh no." Guessing he was a few years old at least, and probably in excess of 8" and probably double that if including the legs. Then a certain fear crept in. How many green frogs did he eat? Is the bullfrog fungus in the pond now? Followed by a surreal sensation that this giant frog's appearance and guinea pig-sized head with giant eyes elicited. Easily spooked, it swam under the crystal clear water and I watched it hide at the OPPOSITE end.
Anyhow, panic set in. I quickly built a net handle out of 3/4" plastic conduit, had some webbing material to meant to protect trees from deer, and about 8' of scrap house electrical wire. Ran the cable through every other hole of the netting material, formed a hoop, jammed two pieces of conduit together, then forced the 2 ends of cable into the conduit and homemade, 12' frog net was created.
Knowing I could catch him at night with a flashlight was last resort. Catching him then and there was a priority. Only he was more elusive than you'd think. Guessing with size and age, comes inherent bumps in intelligence. He popped up from a lilly pad, I put net over him. He went under water. I lifted net, he popped right back up in the same spot! Like, you have to be kidding. Remember thinking this frog has a pair! After a few more attempts around the pond, eventually he refused to surface in the open. Decided to wait until dark, and using a 3000 lumen LED in a clamp lamp with extension cord, I immediately spot him on a gravel path that runs right next to the pond outer banking. Cord gets snagged, so I set the lamp down. He hears the clank and gets spooked, ignores the lighting and hops closer to the banking. Quickly unsnag and turn around, he's gone. 20 minutes go by searching the perimeter, and can't find him. Might as well be daylight I'm shining. Can easily spot 3" green frogs in 10" of grass, but not some NBA player-sized bullfrog. He apparently snuck back into the pond and I eventually spot him at the OPPOSITE end again. To put it into perspective, he heard the clank, moved, when I wasn't looking, jumped back onto the banking with the high grass, hopped 6' down a slope, silently entered the water vs. a plop, then swam to the opposite end of where he entered! Felt like I was trying to corner a field mouse in an old barn.
Now knowing what was at stake, I kept the light high, akin to a spotlight, aimed in his general direction and quietly walked the perimeter. Untested net in hand, light in other, made sure to keep it on him (for those unaware, light at night, even from a cell phone, when shined on or towards basically any frog, either blinds them or causes them to freeze, similar to a deer in headlights making catching by hand possible) and very carefully popped the net on him. Took him a full second to react. Next thing I know, he's fighting the net like a small mouth bass on the line. Couldn't believe the strength this guy had. Waited a minute for him tire out, then WELL away from the pond, got him into a 5 gallon and quickly snapped the lid on it. Probably 2 hours spent catching this sneaky bugger.
Was definitely worth catching and the learning experience. Had yet to hear him call him out, so looks like he was still settling in by himself. Been watching pond like a hawk and so far no others for now. And the greenfrog got to keep his home!
Last edited:
