African Bullfrog appetite - cobra meal

[findi]

Just saw a good doc featuring African Bullfrogs; here's a note on 1 that ate 17 young cobras!

http://bitly.com/KigL3t

Anyone have related stories?

 

[The Snark]

I've seen a young cobra clean out a pond of several thousand tadpoles in the matter of an hour so turn about is fair play, yes?

 

[findi]

Good one, yes! Like many animals, it goes back and forth. In Venezuela, I saw young caimans often taken by larger Anacondas, and vice versa. I'm always amazed at what Af Bullfrogs can take down, w/o injury. Even if immune to toxins, the trauma of bites from large centipedes, snakes and such must count for something; takes quite awhile for most victims to cease struggling, can see movement within abdomen sometimes!

Thanks for the as always interesting note! Best, Frank

 

[Shrike]

Frank,

Your link reminded me of a Nat Geo video I saw a while back:

[YOUTUBE]wXqK5QulbJ8[/YOUTUBE]

Case in point!

 

[findi]

Great video, thank you! I once tossed crickets to some American Bullfrogs that lived in a small pond on the grounds of the Bx Zoo, to illustrate how they fed to a group of 4th graders. One's leap carried it in front of a larger individual, who promptly swallowed it - after a protracted struggle! I have a photo of another in the process of swallowing a bat..very impressive little beasts!

Best, Frank

 

[The Snark]

The problem with great food glomping amphibians is they need an image make-over to coin a commonly heard phrase at a certain ongoing convention competing with a potential hurricane for noise level.
The frog just doesn't incite the fight or flight mechanism in modern day homo-erectus. It doesn't send sibling sisters shrieking into the night. It doesn't inspire the inane stories of filling airplanes with rotting corpses. They need to get together with the PR specialists of Agresti, Phoneutria, and the phantom village population reduction snakes of northern India. (The publicity rights of the Latrodectus community are held by Apple<tm> so that has to be ruled out). Come up with a flashy slogan and hinted weapons of mass destruction hidden behind those vacuous semi glazed eyes. We need to work on this. ::

 

[wesker12]

I wonder what an epomis (did I spell that right?) beetle would do to a big bull frog?

 

[findi]

Hi,

Thx for your interest.

I'm not sure which species you mean; I've seen then take down some formidable inverts and rodents, but I always play it safe. Years ago I lost an American Bullfrog after feeding several medium-sized scarab beetles. Vet at Bx Zoo, where I worked, thought perhaps trauma from the spiny legs moving about, as they were not killed before being swallowed. I've seen many instances of anacondas, tegus and other large predators being injured by prey in the wild; I'm sure Af Bullfrogs experience the same. Pl let me know if you get further info on the beetle, enjoy, Frank

 

[wayne the pain]

Think this is the beetle he is talking about

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/09/epomis-beetle-amphibians/

 

[findi]

Thank you for the link; truly one of the most surprising stories to break recently, and the best photo I've seen on the topic.

Best, Frank

 

[Najakeeper]

Anything that harms baby cobras is pure evil in my book. I love the cute little buggers.

 

[The Snark]

Anything that harms baby cobras is pure evil in my book. I love the cute little buggers.

Cute personified: Saw a kaouthai all of maybe 14 inches long the other day, raised up, hood expanded and ready to take on the world.

 

[Najakeeper]

Cute personified: Saw a kaouthai all of maybe 14 inches long the other day, raised up, hood expanded and ready to take on the world.

Still cute :

I had this Moroccan for a while before I got scared of large elapids.

 

[The Snark]

Still cute :

I had this Moroccan for a while before I got scared of large elapids.

No offense meant Najakeeper, but s/he looks... grumpy. And OP, Not wishing to hijack the thread but I thought it would be spiff to do a close up comparison between the Moroccan and O Hannah