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Published on 05/15/03

This wildlife story is the frog's meow

By Mike Isbell
University of Georgia

"You need to hear this frog," the caller said. "I've never heard one make a sound like this."

I'm always interested in strange things in nature. Maybe this frog was something special. I decided to check it out.

Bill met me out in the yard of the old frame house. We walked over to a 5-gallon bucket he had out under a huge shade tree. Inside the bucket was the frog. After a few misses, Bill retrieved the frog from the bucket.

The big bullfrog Bill was holding was a good 5 inches long, and that didn't include its legs. Bill placed the frog on the ground and began to rub its back. The old frog raised itself off the ground and arched its back, like a bow, and began to emit a very unfroglike sound.

Just like a cat

Darned if it didn't sound just like a cat. And a very mad cat at that.

Now, I'm no frog expert, but I told Bill I suspected the cat sound the frog was making was probably a cry of distress because it was caught. I told him I would try to confirm my suspicion with someone who's an expert.

"I don't guess we need to contact 'Ripley's Believe It or Not' just yet, huh?" Bill said jokingly.

"No, I wouldn't just yet," I said.

Toads and frogs

Toads and frogs range from just above the Arctic Circle to just about the southern tips of Africa, Australia and South America and on many islands, including New Zealand. They're the most widely distributed of all the amphibians.

The typical toad has warty skin and short legs for hopping, while the typical frog has smooth skin and long legs for leaping. But there are no hard-and-fast rules for distinguishing a toad from a frog.

Bullfrogs prefer larger bodies of water than most other frogs. You can find them in lakes, ponds and sluggish streams. You can usually see them along the water's edge or amid the vegetation where they can hide.

'Jug-o'-rum'

Their deep, soothing, "jug-o'-rum" sound is what you would expect from bullfrogs.

My research on frog sounds led me to Whit Gibbons in Aiken, S.C. Whit's a reptilian and amphibian expert.

He confirmed my suspicion that the sound was a distress cry of the frog. Whit said it's a sound some bullfrogs will make in response to a predator. He didn't know if all bullfrogs make it or just certain frogs.

But evidently it's rare to hear one.

A bullfrog that sounds like a cat. Isn't that the frog's meow!

(Mike Isbell is the Heard County Extension Coordinator with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)

Mike Isbell is the Heard County extension coordinator with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Experts/Sources:
Mike Isbell
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