Frogs

Frogs may just be little tiny itty bitty creatures but they have feelings too. They enjoy a relaxing swim at the local pond, sunbathing on a nice hot rock, and chowing down on a gazzilion different insects.

Frogs don't ask for a lot out of life, but like everyone else on this big old planet, they just want a few simple pleasures to make their day worth getting up for.

You can start by keeping on eye on your puppy and what he is up to when he is outside running around free. Better yet box him in, or tie him up, and please rescue a frog if you catch him or Fifi trying to play with one. Many frogs are pretty defenseless and sometimes they just need a bit of a helping hand to keep them safe from predators. Frogs love munching out on bugs so they will pay you back by keeping your local bug population in check.

Reduce your effect on the environment. Compost and Recycle. Being environmentally friendly is probably the single most important thing that you can do for the environment and for helping out frogs. Pollution and the effects of climate change are killing frogs, their delicate skin just can't take it, so please try to help clean things up a bit out there.

Just try to use a little less energy in and around your home. You'll actually be amazed how easy it is to save a lot.

Switch to energy efficient bulbs, not only will you reduce green house gas emissions, but you can also save up to 80% of the energy that you would generally use in lighting. Reduce the current lighting that you use by making sure that you shut off the light behind you whenever you leave a room.

Unplug appliances when you are not using them and shut your computer off rather than putting it into sleep mode. Throw out the beer fridge, its just sitting there half empty anyway. Get rid of your electric blanket and switch to a wind up alarm clock.

Keep up on your home repairs. Fix that leaky tap. Seal up those breezy windy and door cracks. Turn the thermostat down at night, and to keep you warm when things chill off a bit, snuggle up nice and cuddly next to the person you love. You'll be reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that you produce and the difference in your electric bill will really make you smile.

Buy a push lawn mower and get out there and get some much needed exercise. Rather than driving to the corner store, walk or bike it every now and then, you just might like it.

Some people don't think that they can make much of a difference but the little things you do matter a lot. Every little step that you take to help out does make a very big difference in the overall picture.

Frogs don't ask for much. They just want to hop around a bit, enjoy a nice bug meal, and a little swim around in the old pond every now and then. They sure would appreciate it if you could help them out.

It is the Goliath Frog.

Yep, he is out there, and he is big! He lives in West Central Africa and he is the world's biggest frog. His body alone can measure a whopping thirty centimeters in length. That is over a foot long! But stretch him out and from the tip of his nose to the end of his toes he can measure in at over two and a half feet.

Gulp! That is one very big froggie.

So what is the biggest frog where we live? Well that would be the old Bull Frog and he is actually quite tiny compared to Goliath. A Bull Frog can only grow to, or a little more than, six inches in body length.

Bet the Bull Frog feels very big though compared to the world's tiniest frog, which would be (drum roll please.......) the Cuban Pygmy Frog, and he is only about one half of an inch long. Now he is one tiny itty bitty teeny weeny little guy.

So long in fact that there is evidence that they have been around since the days of the dinosaurs.

In fact, scientists believe that frogs have inhabited the Earth for over 200 million years.
Wow!

Come to think of it ..... they do look kind of prehistoric.

Frogs usually catch their food, which is generally bugs and other little creepy crawly stuff, with their long sticky tongues. They don't chew their food though, they just swallow it right down, yummy!

Frogs breathe with their lungs, but they can also close their nostrils underwater, and just absorb oxygen through their skin. Cool huh?

When you hear frogs making Ribittt, and burping noises, it is usually the boy. That is because the boy frogs are busy making all kinds of croaky noises to try and get a girl frog to notice him. Some frogs will blow out a big balloon in their throat which will make their voices even loader......

Gleep! How romantic.

Oh and girl frogs make sounds too but their voices are usually much quieter than the boy frogs so you probably won't notice it when they talk.

Some blow themselves up like a big balloon so they will look bigger and scarier than they really are. Others have stripes so it looks like they are split in two, that way a predator may think that they are a leaf instead of a frog, and will leave them alone. Others have claws to fight with, or poisons hidden in their skin to protect them, and still others protect themselves by smelling down and out right nasty. Yuck.

Of course one thing that most frogs have in common is their long hind legs which enable them to jump to over twenty times their own length. So if something is bugging them then they can usually just hop away.

The only thing that they really have absolutely no defense against is us and the damage that we are doing to the environment around them. That is something that only we can stop.

So be nice to a frog, turn the computer off behind you when you leave the room, and don't forget to shut the light off too.