My Daughter and I took my Grandson on a bullfrog hunt a few nights ago. The way it works, is we walk slowly around the pond with a net and very bright flashlight. When a big one is spotted we shine the light on him and slowly creep up to striking distance with the net and try to net him before he can jump into the water. The light mesmerizes him and sometimes the netter wins, but more often the frog wins. When we are successful, we play with the frog for a while, being careful not to injure it, and then return it to the pond. We caught a couple of whoppers last night and had a lot of fun!

Here are some interesting facts about bullfrogs: The sound made by male bullfrogs for calling females into a territory to mate resembles the roaring of a bull, hence the frog's common name. The female deposits her eggs into the water and the male simultaneously releases sperm. Eggs hatch in 3 - 5 days but time to metamorphosis can be from a few months to 3 years.

American bullfrogs grow to 3-1/2" to 6" in body length and their legs add another 7" to 10" to their overall length. Their normal life span is 8 - 10 years but have been known to live for 16 years in captivity.

As has been shown by stomach content studies over the years, bullfrogs have a very interesting diet. They seem to prey on any animal they can overpower and stuff down their throats. This includes rodents, small turtles, snakes, birds, insects and even other frogs.

Bullfrogs breath by absorbing oxygen and eliminating carbon dioxide through their moist skin, lining of their mouth and lungs.

Copyright 2009 - John Swift