We stocked our little goldfish pond with a half-dozen bullfrog tadpoles this spring, and one by one, they emerged. Then we saw a 7th frog, then an 8th. Some hanky panky was going on. The unaccounted-for amphibians were leopard frogs. One night this spring, there were some frog shenanigans going on and now we have a pond full of leopard frogs. There was even one born in our small lily pond, though he has since moved to the larger pond.
But how and why and where the leopard frogs came from is a mystery. Apparently, they are quite the roamers and there are many types of leopard frogs – about 20 in all. I think we have southern leopard frogs. Like all “leopard frogs” they have brown and green spots resembling those of a leopard.
My newfound friends grow to be mid-size frogs, not as large as a jumbo bullfrog, but large enough to eat small fish, other frogs, crickets and whatever fits in their mouths. Like the bullfrogs, they are lightening quick. When a bug buzzes near, it’s…gulp… no more bug.
Leopard frogs like to hang near water, but unlike bullfrogs, they are not confined to water. Like Dion in “Run Around Sue”, they roam around, around, around, around. And when they meet up with the opposite sex, there are soon leopard frog eggs in the ponds and lakes. What sluts!
I read that leopard frogs breed primarily in the winter and spring but sometimes breed again in the fall. Sometimes a heavy rain will prompt explosive breeding in this species. Last week, we saw some small, white eggs in the shallow end of our pond, and it had just rained hard. More leopard frogs? Perhaps. We’ll find out soon enough.