When the rainy season comes near, we hear the croaking sound of the frogs. You must be wondering where they all had been during the dry seasons. Such a long winter passes silently, and when days start getting hotter and wetter, the frogs come and start croaking.
During the dry seasons, frogs go under the soil for a long sleep. This is called hibernation. During this period, they eat the food stories in their bodies.
Frogs are amphibians. That means, they can live both on land and in water. They lay their eggs in water, and young ones develop there. The young ones of a frog have a large head and a long tail like that of a fish. Such a young frog with a tail is called a tadpole. Tadpoles swim with the help of their tail. They eat tiny plants found in water.
After the twelfth week, the tail disappears, and tadpole becomes a froglet. It then slowly moves towards the land and starts living its free and adult life. It is called a frog then. Even though it lives on land, it can jump back into water whenever needed.
Frogs have rough skin. There are tiny holes in their skin. Through these holes, they can take in water and air. Some frogs have poison in their skin. The skin of the poisonous frogs shines brightly. Because of this shine, other animals know that it is poisonous, and so, they do not attack the frogs. Some frogs found in South America are the most poisonous frogs in the world.
Most frogs have sharp teeth, and can see and hear well. They have four legs. Some species have long legs, long enough to catch their prey from a distance, while some have short legs. The biggest frog is around 40 centimeter long and is found in West Africa. It is also called Goliath frog.
Frogs can do wonderful things. Some frogs can jump more than 30 times their won length in a single attempt. Some can project their long and sticky tongue to catch insects. Some of them can dig holes in the soil, while some frogs like the natterjack can run.
There are other interesting things that frogs can do. Some of them can kill and eat rats and mice bigger than their bodies. Some of them can glide down a tree from branch to branch with the help of their feet that have sticky discs. Some frogs become flat and thin and lie on the ground if you touch them. The male of the midwife toad carries the eggs laid by its female in land, and goes in search of water. When it finds water, it releases the eggs, and new frogs develop from there.
Is not the world of frogs interesting? But sadly enough, some frogs are decreasing in number and after some years, we may not see them. The running toads are few in number and may not be found after some years. It is a sad news. The loss of frogs can lead to the increase in the number of harmful insects, and other living things can be affected. So, we should not be cruel to frogs.