Some "froggy" facts..... and videos!

Here's a few little extras to ponder upon, including some personal insights concerning the "Fabulous Froggage" project!

First of all I would like to thank you for visiting! This has been by far my most-adventuresome, as well as fun page, both to create, and especially to collect the images for! If you are experienced at this sort of thing, you'll know what type of habitats and situations I found myself in to collect these photos, such as the seemingly-endless rainy nights, wandering through vast swamp-forest and climbing over fallen branches in the dark, working the deep, weedy lake-edges, and being knee-deep in muck to sneakily approach the frogs.... all in hopes of getting that "perfect" picture! One of the most hair-raising experiences I encountered was when I encountered this huge Cottonmouth snake, probably near-record size for the species, and when I first walked up upon it, it coiled back into striking position, which was quite a shock to see! Over-all, this has been a very fun project, which has made my spring and summer a FUN one, and my friend Georges was right there with me (on the phone) as I tramped through the vast marshlands, and it's as if he was right there with me to hear every croak and splash..... and he was there when I encountered the Cottonmouth as well! Also this project will continue as long as the season allows, and even into the winter months there will be other species, such as the Chorus frogs (Pseudacris) that should be coming into the picture. The following picture in particular has aroused some feelings in the viewers of my "Rana s. sphenocephala" page showing a Giant Waterbug savagely attacking a Leopard frog, in a death-hold from which there was no escape. Yes.... I DID free the frog immediately after the picture was taken, and the Waterbug was also safely released into the night, and this is one of the very few times I interfered with the natural process of things! (The larger image is available on the "Rana s. sphenocephala" page, in the "Other frog species" folder).

Each night I venture out there is a whole new experience, never knowing just what I will encounter as I go off into the darkness deep in the Florida jungle wilderness, and I shared with my friend Sally one night on the phone from the midst of the vast jungle "I may die out here one of these nights doing this..... but at least I'll die HAPPY, and doing what I enjoy BEST!". I'm trusting I'll always be safe doing this sort of thing though!

A late-night snack!

Here's a toad eating a large grasshopper! If you want to see this in action, simply click the picture! This will open the video. One purpose of "Fabulous Froggage" is to show the amazing world of frogs doing just what they do out there on a regular basis, and on these pages I strive to show you first-hand frogs out there...... just being frogs as best as they know how :-)

Why do frogs croak?

Frogs croak (or "call") to attract a mate mostly, and some will call at any hour of the day often ahead of rains (especially the Treefrogs), and in most cases the males congregate in shallow water and begin calling, and this attracts the females. The female either approaches the closest calling male, or she'll often go for one that sounds most-pleasing to her, and she will upon approach either nudge or mount the male, which will immediately turn and clasp the female, and after awhile the female will go to the place where she will lay her eggs, and will signal the male with body motions, and she will begin to release her eggs, which he will fertilize as he actively kicks to stir the water as he releases sperm. Frogs do not "mate" as such, and fertilization takes place in the water - outside the body. To see the rarely-captured event of a female actually approaching the calling male, click the image for a Dial-up-friendly video, and for high-speed users, please click HERE to see the event in high-bitrate (High-speed users may want to view BOTH, since both are two different events of this rarely-seen event!).

Also every now and then something really bizarre is seen, and shown here you will will see a Hyla septentrionalis pairing with a Hyla gratiosa! Both species were breeding the same location the night this picture was taken, and one mistook the one for the other! Also on my "Hyla septentrionalis" page, you'll see one mounting a Rana grylio. Oops! MORTALITY This is one of the beautiful specimens also seen on my "Bufo terrestris" page, and the image may be quite disturbing, but this is what happens when they go out and play in traffic! This is the same one in both pictures :-( A few more froggy facts....... ...... concerning the actual event of collecting these incredible images! I use the Canon PowerShot, which has superb night-macro, and is perfectly designed for this type of work. Clicking on the above image will reveal a much larger picture of a similar situation, showing my camera..... and a really nice Leopard frog! I start by zooming-in upon approach, and if the frog lets me, I get right up close for the best shots using the macro setting, such as seen here. As far as getting the incredible videos on here, nothing special is used. Just my camera, a flashlight, a cooperative frog....... and lots of patience! Here's a look behind the scenes! This site will show (besides more great images of frogs!), a closer glimpse at what goes on...... behind every picture! As time permits, I will be adding more and more "froggy" facts to this page! Go to Froggy Facts II