The American Bullfrog

Keith A. Williams Bootlegger Rana catesbeiana, or the American Bullfrog- as it is better known, is the largest true frog in North America. Its common name of Bullfrog references the bull-like low-fre uenc! croaking noise that it makes, which can be hear" from close to a mile awa!. Bullfrogs ha#e a broa" bo"! which can #ar! in color sha"e #ariations of brown an" green, with white un"ersi"es green or gra! brown with brown s$ots. %he! ha#e short, stubb! front legs an" long, muscular, hin" legs that en" in webbe" hin" feet. Bo"! lengths can $rogress to eight inches or more, an" ten inch back legs are not unusual at all. Bullfrogs are nati#e to the &outheastern 'nite" &tates, but ha#e naturall! e(ten"e" their range to more Western states, an intro"uce" s$ecies to areas of &outh America an" )uro$e. %he! thri#e in moist, &outhern weather. %he! are most acti#e in the warmer months an" hibernate in tunnel-like holes in the winter so the! won*t free+e. %he! li#e near water an" are usuall! foun" on or near the e"ge of swam$s, $on"s, an" lakes, but it is not unusual to see them fre uentl! crossing lan" at night, es$eciall! if humi"it! is high. %he! are #er! territorial an" once the! fin" a location that suits them, the! will aggressi#el! chase awa! others who intru"e on their s$ace. ,u#enile Bullfrogs are sometimes confuse" with the smaller, !et similar -reen frogs, which onl! grow to about two to four inches in length, but lack the ri"ges on the frog*s back. Although males an" females "on*t "iffer much in $h!sical a$$earance, the throat of the male ma! be !ellow. &e( is more $re"ictabl! "etermine" b! noting the si+e of the ear"rum, because the ear "rum is #isible from a "istance an" the male frog*s ear"rum is twice "iameter as that of the female. Bullfrogs begin mating from late s$ring an" remain re$ro"ucti#el! acti#e throughout much of the summer. %he male will mount an" s uee+e the female with its front legs an" the female will la! u$ to ./,/// eggs onto the grass while the male "e$osits s$erm on to$ of them. %he egg masses are huge, resembling semi floating mats of small bubbles, an" are attache" to submerge" #egetation. %he eggs hatch in aroun" fi#e "a!s. %he hatchlings will emerge as ta"$oles an" will resemble minnows of the same age in si+e. %he! li#e near the shore in shallow water areas an" breathe un"erwater through gills. 0uring this time, the! will sur#i#e b! eating algae an" ten"er $lant roots. Bullfrogs "e#elo$ ha#e a fairl! slow rate of "e#elo$ment, an" it can take se#eral !ears before the! begin transformation from ta"$ole to froglet. 0uring this $erio", the! will lose their tails an" gills an" grow legs. At this $oint, the! will be e uall! at home on lan" or in water. %he! $rimaril! take air into their lungs b! mouth, but can also absorb o(!gen an" eliminate carbon "io(i"e through its skin. At this stage, the! begin to fee" on worms an" small insects. 1ther than si+e, their $h!sical a$$earance will not change much after this. Bullfrogs can reach a"ult si+e after about eight months, but won*t reach se(ual maturit! until three to fi#e !ears of age. A"ults ha#e $aratoi" glan"s that emit mil"l! to(ic secretions that "on*t taste goo" to attackers. %his lea#es them with ha#e few natural $re"ators, an" the! t!$icall! li#e from eight to ten !ears in the wil".

Bullfrogs are ambush $re"ators, an" can remain unmo#ing for long $erio"s of time. When necessar!, Bullfrogs can lea$ more than ten time their length, which can easil! e ual more than si( feet for an a"ult. %o ca$ture foo", the Bullfrog $refers to lunge with its mouth o$en at a $otential #ictim. 1nce the tongue makes contact, it then clam$s "own on it with their $owerful 2aws. &ince its teeth are not meant for chewing, it must attem$t to stuff foo" into its mouth as far as $ossible with its front legs, an" has a rather o"" metho" o"" wa! of assisting swallowing, in that its e!es can retract an" hel$ to $ush its foo" "own the throat. %he! ha#e sometimes been seen to $ull their $re! into the water with them. It has been s$eculate" that this ma! hel$ lubricate whate#er it is swallowing, but it is $rimaril! to hel$ sub"ue its $re! from $rolonge" struggles that might increase the risk of in2ur! to the Bullfrog. Bullfrogs ha#e #oracious a$$etites an" generall! will attack an" eat most an!thing that it can catch an" fit into its mouth- u$ to an" inclu"ing insects, fish, li+ar"s, bats, snakes, ro"ents, crawfish, an" e#en other frogs. %here ha#e e#en been re$orts of Bullfrogs with small bir"s in their stomachs. Bullfrogs are nati#e to much of the eastern 'nite" &tates, but are $erha$s the most wi"el! "istribute" am$hibian in North America. %heir legs are a "elicac! that is much sought after in much of the worl", an" $oor $ractices of catching 2u#enile frogs has "ro$$e" the Bullfrog into a nearl! non-e(istent status in areas that where it woul" otherwise flourish. Interesting, it was for their $otential commercial #alue, that the! ha#e been im$orte" into areas all o#er the $lanet, an" a bit ironic to note that while the Bullfrog has nearl! cease" to e(ist in some tra"itional $laces, that the! ha#e actuall! become in#asi#e in other locations. In such areas where Bullfrogs either esca$e", or were release" into the unsus$ecting en#ironments after faile" business attem$ts, their $re"ator! effecti#eness an" large a$$etites can create har"shi$s for the nati#e wil"life. Not onl! "o the! com$ete with the nati#e frogs for the natural foo", but the! will also eat the other frogs, fish, an" other creatures to the $oint that the! ma! eliminate them entirel!. Also, resent research suggests that the! ma! be carriers of the ch!tri" fungus 3although mostl! immune themsel#es4 which has been a ma2or cause to other frog $o$ulations aroun" the worl". Bullfrogs are nutritious an" are often hunte" for their "elicious, white meat. %he! ha#e #er! goo" #ision in low light an" can sense #ibrations near them. As far as metho"s for hunting Bullfrogs for foo", there are man! o$tions that work $rett! well. &ome $refer to shoot them with a ... rifle, but I ten" to #iew this is a $rett! wasteful e($en"iture of ammunition. Also, when !ou figure that Bullfrogs are best hunte" at night, I "on*t hea#il! en"orse the i"ea of shooting along a ri#er or creek bank in the "ark. 5ou can use a blowgun to shoot an" $in them to the groun", as !ou "o with wharf rats, but with the frogs* e(ce$tionall! strong legs a mis$lace" shot is likel! to see then $ull the "art from the groun" an" hea" straight for the water. When that ha$$ens, not "o !ou not get the frog, but also ha#e one less "art to show for !our efforts. A long $ole with a multi-$ronge" gig is often the $referre" metho" of choice when hunting them from an airboat, since the seats are usuall! higher abo#e the water, an" this enables the frogger to har#est them without unnecessar! mo#ement. With these, often use" is a catch bag with a long, skinn! throat that is hel" o$en b! a stiff wire hoo$. After gigging the frogs, !ou sim$l! scra$e them off the gig with the insi"e of the hoo$ an" the frog falls "own to the bottom of the chute an" then ha#e "ifficult! esca$ing from below. A #ariant of this for the s ueamish is a s$ring-loa"e" grabber that sits in $lace of the gig. I "on*t like these, as the! must be re-cocke" b! han" before each use, an" so a""s another ste$ in the o$eration. Also, it "oesn*t reall! benefit someone from getting their han"s "irt!, as the frog must still be remo#e" b! han" from the claw. 6rogging is a $rett! mess! en"ea#or an" in m! humble o$inion, is not reall! i"eal for the faint of heart to begin with. 7o#ing right along- another trick

that works uite well is to "angle a re" "r! fl!, lure, or small $iece of material in front of them on a $iece of fishing line. 7ore often than not, the! will rea"il! attack it an" are 2ust $ulle" in for su$$er. 5et another o$tion is to use steel whi$ ra"io antennae with a woo"en "owel for a han"le. With this, the frogger stalks within range an" then 2ust smacks them senseless with the "ece$ti#el! fast wea$on. 6or those less han"!, a fle(ible sa$ling will work $rett! well for this as well. I ha#e a &2ambok that I think woul" work reall! well for this role, but then again, the sa$ling is free. At an! rate, I think that this metho" is best suite" for hunting frogs without a boat, since it is more "ifficult to a$$roach them without some noise to gi#e !ou awa!. Whene#er $ossible howe#er, I $refer the sim$lest of all metho"s, in which !ou 2ust i"le along in a boat with a little $atience an" a keen e!e. A bright light "irecte" into the frog*s e!es momentaril! causes them to $ause an" the! will ten" to remain motionless unless some motion or noise is "etecte". If this ha$$ens, the! will attem$t to "i#e into the water where the! feel the safest. With this in min" the i"ea is to ease alongsi"e them an" reach or 2um$ out an" grab them b! han". %his is a $rett! straight forwar" $rocess that is not onl! effecti#e, but is also so much fun that in the "a!s of !ester!ear, it was one of the most $referre" wa!s for a !oung bo! to s$en" a 6ri"a! night, an" still sta! out of trouble. 8erha$s with a little luck an" ma!be a greater awareness on the $art of their human counter$arts, there will still be an abun"ance of these fine creatures for the ne(t generation of u$coming Woo"smen to en2o! them as well.