Wood Frog

[Tim Benzedrine]

So I was doing some yardwork the other day, and while I was running the weed-eater, I caught a movement from the corner of my eye. I saw that it was a small wood frog (Rana sylvatica ),so I set down the weed-eater andI pounced on the critter it so I could enclose it until I finished mowing the lawn. I wanted to avoid turning it into frogfetti with the mower, you see.
It slipped from my hands causing a short impromptu juggling act which in turn made me take a few steps back, right into the whirling weed-eater strings. It stung like the dickens and left a nice welt. I could have swore the frog was smirking....

Anyway, after placing the frog in a jar I went about the work and when I finished I got my camera and took a few snapshots. I wasn't going to bother posting them because I wasn't sure that anybody would be interested in seeing pictures of a common critter like that, but I discovered something interesting which made the frog seem a little more special. They are one of those creatures who can be pretty well frozen during hibernation and survive! From a website discussing them:

Wood frogs have perfected the cryogenic freezing process. In the winter, as much as 35-45% of the frogs body may freeze, and turn to ice. Ice crystals form beneath the skin and become interspersed among the body's skeletal muscles. During the freeze the frog's breathing, blood flow, and heart beat cease. Freezing is made possible by specialized proteins and glucose, which prevent intracellular freezing and dehydration.

Which goes to show you that even the commonest thing can have some nearly miraculous qualities!

Here are a few of the snaps I liked. I put it in my birdbath to keep itrelatively calm and floated a hosta leaf to place him on to make the pictures more eye-appealing. I set a quarter next to him for scale in the last photo.

 

[bugmankeith]

Great pictures and interesting story too, are you going to keep him or let him go.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

I considered keeping it, but decided to turn it loose. I have a wild caught american toad and a dwarf african frog, but beyond that my experience with amphibians is fairly limited and I did not want to risk not being able to care for it properly. If it started going badly in a month or two, I probably would not be able to release it due to the onset of cold weather. I'm sure that despite their cold-resistant qualities, being suddenly thrust into a harsh environment would still have grave consequences for them. If it had been spring, I might have gave it a shot.

I think they are nice-looking frogs. By the way, for their size, those things can really jump! I tried to catch a bigger one earlier this summer, and he got away, leaping what looked to be about 3 feet in a single hop.

 

[bugmankeith]

That was a smart decision you made since you dont have much experience with them, mabye he will reproduce and help make more frogs, just be sure to keep an eye out for him so your mower wont get him.

 

[Midnightrdr456]

the best part of this story is that you did something nice like that. So many people just dont care.

Just 2 days ago i came home from class to my apartment building off campus. Me and my friend heard something in the rain gutter, so after about an hour of ripping the gutter apart, and pulling out all the dead leaves, we rescued a bird. Not sure what kind.

The landlord actually came up to yell at us for tearing the gutter apart but when she saw why she changed her mind, didnt even make us pay to fix it

So two thumbs up to you good sir for your good deed!

 

[What]

wood frogs are awesome!

i had one that i kept frozen for ~7 months of the year, he lived for 3 years...

unfortunately he passed on last year during a power outage...

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

the best part of this story is that you did something nice like that. So many people just dont care.

Just 2 days ago i came home from class to my apartment building off campus. Me and my friend heard something in the rain gutter, so after about an hour of ripping the gutter apart, and pulling out all the dead leaves, we rescued a bird. Not sure what kind.

The landlord actually came up to yell at us for tearing the gutter apart but when she saw why she changed her mind, didnt even make us pay to fix it

So two thumbs up to you good sir for your good deed!

Thanks! I try to do what I can.
I acquired the toad I mentioned earlier under the same circumstances. I saw him hop along while I was mowing, and put him in a container for safe keeping. This time though I was confident I could afford him a satisfactory existence under my care, because I had kept them before, They are pretty undemanding.
I generally even remove insects I see from the mower path whenever possible. The same day I caught the frog, I scooped a wolf spider out of harms way, as well as a grasshopper. Of course, for every bug I notice, I probably go over 100 others, but what can you do?

 

[bugmankeith]

I do the same thing, mostly with me it's daddylong legs,moths, and crickets.