CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
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
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time to spend more of the holiday with guests, taking time ahead of the day to set expectations can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. CAES News
Manage holiday stress with kindness, boundaries 11/21/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Much like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time allows you to spend more of the holiday with guests, setting expectations ahead of the celebration can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science.
Conner Hall CAES News
CAES welcomes 2024 cohort of Rural Scholars 11/20/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences welcomed its fourth cohort of students chosen for the CAES Rural Scholars Program this fall just weeks after celebrating the program's first graduation. Georgia Orman, one of four inaugural Rural Scholars in CAES, graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education. The new scholars for 2024, all from Georgia, are Ela Ash of Ocilla, Lauren E. Coley of Cochran, Amelia Housley of Canon, and London O’Steen of Ambrose.
Women play a vital role in rural American farming, but much of that work is "invisible," like raising children or household chores, according to a new UGA study. (Getty Images) CAES News
The women and stress behind rural farming in America 11/19/24 Leigh Hataway
Recent research from the University of Georgia suggests the unique stresses from farm life may be taking a toll on one of the pillars of the families that make your dinners possible: the women who keep farming families running. “If we don’t control our food sources, we don’t control our health and safety,” said Anna Scheyett, lead author of the study and a professor in UGA’s School of Social Work. “It’s a matter of national security that farmers survive in the United States. And one of the big factors in helping farms survive is women.”
Mergoum at Creature Comforts CAES News
That's the spirit! 11/18/24 Maria M. Lameiras, Claire Sanders Kinnard
Wheat breeders spend years meticulously crossing varieties to coax the best traits out of each species, carefully propagating plant varieties that are healthier, heartier and better suited for the environments where they are grown. Professional brewmasters are equally painstaking when choosing the components that will give their beers a specific flavor profile.
Contest-winning concept becomes viable business for alumnus who developed solar-powered, self-propelled chicken coop as a student. CAES News
Poultry in motion 11/14/24 Sean Montgomery
Chris Ayers emerged from his orange and black rough-terrain vehicle with an ear-to-ear grin. “This is Chiktopia,” he said, sweeping his arm wide to indicate the back half of a 3,600-square-foot warehouse on his family’s farm in Ball Ground, Georgia. “This is where I manufacture and assemble the chicken coops. Everything is done entirely from over here.”
UGA Grand Farm Site Plan web CAES News
UGA Grand Farm wins stage two of 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund competition 11/13/24 Jordan Powers
Startups in the agricultural technology sector face significant barriers on the path to establishment, including access to training and capital. These barriers are heightened for underrepresented entrepreneurs seeking to start new companies. The University of Georgia Grand Farm, part of a historic partnership between the University of Georgia and Fargo, North Dakota-based Grand Farm, aims to change that.