One little speckled frog
Sitting on a speckled log,
Eating the most delicious bugs,
Yum, yum.
He jumped into the pool,
Where it was nice and cool,
There there were no little speckled frogs.,
Sitting on a speckled log,
Eating the most delicious bugs,
Yum, yum.
My grandson just learned this song and loved yelling out yum yum. He sings it with the memory of seeing this frog recently in my bird bath. After taking this picture of a Southern Leopard Frog, I wanted to know more about my resident frog, happily living in my yard. The first thing I did was read about the difference between a frog and toad. Further reading alerted me to many science news articles about the decline of frogs due to a fungal infection, kinda like thrush in us. Yes, this fungus has even been seen in the US, not just Australia. Chytridiomycosis is under a lot of study right now because it wipes out entire populations quickly. Amphibians are vulnerable to environmental stresses and are an early warning to habitat loss. This disease is warning us that something is happening. We can reduce the spread by not handling frogs and not relocating frogs or tadpoles from one place to another.
I can remember the bubonic plague by the childhood song “Ring around the Rosey.” Will frogs be included in that kind of memory for future generations? We need to help people with no biological training to conceptualize the personal loss we might feel if frogs are no longer around. I love seeing this frog around my yard enjoying the water in my fountain. Have you seen any frogs lately?
