This is a Southern Leopard Frog. Isn’t he perfectly camouflaged in the mulch beside the Blue Lagoon (former Infinity Pool)? Teddy and I were so excited about a new garden pet and ran for cameras. ‘Leo’ sat patiently and posed for the paparazzi. Then we Googled him. They are indigenous and live in the south east portion of the US. There are 23 types of Leopard frog in the Americas – who knew? I loved the names of the unusual species such as Bigfoot Leopard Frog, Vegas Valley Leopard Frog and my favorite, Montezuma’s Leopard Frog.
They need to live by water so I guess the containment pond is close enough. He has a very distinctive call – Their croaking, chuckling call has been compared to the sound of rubbing an inflated balloon. That is one of the many reasons why I have to wear earplugs at night… Judging the cacophony outside my window there are thousands hundreds living in our reserve.
National Geographic states:
Leopard frogs will eat just about anything they can fit in their mouths. They sit still and wait for prey to happen by, then pounce with their powerful legs. They eat beetles, ants, flies, worms, smaller frogs, including their own species, and even birds, and garter snakes.
WOW! That is an impressive little predator with quite an appetite – and most welcome in our well stocked jungle preserve.
Then Teddy and I realized we had seen a leopard frog before. When we first moved into the street, I was enchanted by all the pumpkins you could buy in autumn. It was a very hot, steamy October and we kept hearing frogs outside the front door. Later we realized that the wee pumpkins had rotted with delicious larvae inside, attracting all the frogs. Even Tim Burton couldn’t create a Halloween scenario like that one!
In retrospect, we wonder if this little green tree frog was hopping away from the gluttonous leopard frog near the pumpkins… It really is a jungle out there!
This is our delightful Frog Lady guide on a trip to El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rica. The Coqui Frog is the symbol of Puerto Rico and sings all night long. This is a link to my post about El Yunque.
references – National Geographic, USNF and Wikipedia
Postcards from Kerry 
A marvelous document. Fun!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you so much, Marilee!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, they are hungry predators.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Aren’t they just! Plenty to eat around here. 😃
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is an exciting new yard visitor, Kerry. I love it when I discover new species near where we live.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Tanja. They are new to me, too, but they have always been hiding in the garden! We also have a new Slatey Skimmer Juvenile Dragonfly who has visited us every day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Im a pig i admit it. The rubbing inside the balloon got me.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You should hear it in real life – it is like nails on a chalkboard!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Montezuma’s Leopard Frog is indeed a wonderful name!!! 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
I wish it was my name, really. Thank you! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha, it could also be a cool name for a cocktail 🙂 Tequila, Galliano and Absinthe maybe ;-p
LikeLiked by 1 person
That sounds like an excellent combination…to get really hammered!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha it would certainly keep the weeds down 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I almost missed that little guy. 🐸
LikeLiked by 1 person
I nearly stood on him… Thanks, Gail!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bigfoot Leopard Frog and Vegas Valley Leopard Frog? Such amazing names! People don’t know much about frogs except that they have seen them during childhood, at the time of the rains and they look cute and sometimes cuddly. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve seen one, but then again, we spend most of our free time down by the coast 🙂 Have a nice day 🙂 Aiva xxx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aren’t they amazing names? We can hear frogs all the time (and probably toads) but can’t always see them. Thank you, Aiva. K x
LikeLike
Hi. My area is full of houses and strip malls and office buildings, etc. I’m sure there are frogs somewhere, but I haven’t crossed paths with any. Which is a shame.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I bet there is a leopard hiding somewhere! We live in a funny mixture of forest, reserve, pond and buildings.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 Frogs! We’ve been finding a bunch in our yard these days as we dig up old things and plant new things!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love frogs! They eat the things I don’t like…although I had to squish a tree roach today. Where is Leo when you need him?? K x
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like how they chirp at night 🙂 Very relaxing to listen to!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like all the frogs except the Leopard frogs chirping…🐸
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Kerry,
I am glad you welcomed this little new creature.
I am so terrified of frogs, of any kind, of any size. They terrorized my sister and I when we were young. They appeared in our yard often. We would freeze in places and call my dad to scare them away.
Blessings to you this weekend! ♥♥
LikeLiked by 1 person
Isn’t it funny, I am terrified of moths but love frogs. I guess you have to watch out for poisonous varieties in Brazil. Have a wonderful weekend away!!! K x
LikeLiked by 1 person
No poison frogs in my area, but still I want to have nothing to do with them 😦 Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my, I can’t imagine the cacophony outside your window is so loud that you have to wear earplugs! I remember hearing some in Costa Rica that sounded like they were saying something but I couldn’t quite understand the words.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha, ha! Maybe your frogs were speaking in the indigenous language? Ours are just typical Texans – loud and friendly!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reading your blog is like watching a nature documentary! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, that’s the nicest compliment I could receive! Thank you, Mags. K x
LikeLiked by 1 person
De nada, mi amiga. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person