Are Frogs Intelligent.

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Home Boats Photos Crow Humber River walk

Wee Snapper Fox Opossum Wild Turkeys

Frogs might be Smarter than

we think
I live in the Niagara Region of Ontario Canada.
There are many different types of frogs around.

A few years back, frogs suffered some serious

epidemic and a large number died. They seem to
be coming back. I have several frogs and toads
living around my garden. The toads in particular
hang out where the slugs hide.
I photographed this little climbing frog at the
Abino Point Lighthouse in Crystal Beach,
Ontario. A grey tree frog I think. He (she?) was
quite a ways up a wall. His toes are quite
bulbous.

This little frog lives in my back yard. I dug a

draining trench and made a couple of spots
deeper so there would be a couple of puddles. I
think that is probably a leopard frog. He's very
handsome.

The little swamp has attracted various little frogs

and toads.
I was not too surprised one morning to find a
green frog swimming on the side of the pool. I
went to it and picked it out of the water and put it
out in the "swamp". There is a nice deep puddle
about 50 feet away. I was worried that he would
not be able to get out of the pool.

I was a bit surprised the next day to find the frog

sitting on the pool ladder. This time he jumped in
the pool and I had to be quite sneaky to catch
him later that afternoon when he had come out
to sun himself.

He had figured out how to jump on the step and

then go on to the edge and get out of the pool.
Few of the creatures I fish out of the pool have
figured this out. I keep a big piece of wood in the
pool to give them something to crawl up on.
I eventually managed to catch him by crawling to
the edge and using a bucket, suck him in the
deep bucket and grab him from the water. The
ledge of the pool had hidden me.
I put him in the far puddle, a good 100 feet away
from the opening to the pool

At this point I understand that froggie WANTS to

be in the pool area. It's warm safe and there are
lots of insects and grubs that seem to end up in
the pool.

I secured the pool. I closed the doors, and

plugged-in a small opening on the side of the
enclosure. The pool is covered by a plastic
greenhouse structure which has no holes except
for 2 small openings at the base. Quite easy, I
thought, to close up.

Fast forward a few days and NO FROG. Good

news. I'm not particularly worried about a frog in
the pool but the chlorine is quite toxic to them. I
would hate to kill the little guy.
After a few frog free days, I noticed a suspicious
dropping on the side of the pool and sure
enough, it was frog poop. Later that day, I crept
up to the pool and was able to photograph
froggie very relaxed and dozing with his head
down, on the step. Photo is taken with a zoom. I
feel like a paparazzi.
When he eventually saw me he jumped in the
water and went to the very bottom. I figured out
that he had been hiding in the filter intake. There
is a sort of little cavern and a cross bar so he
was quite safe even if the filter was running. A bit
tricky to get in though.

Here Froggie is sitting on a hose that I used to

add some water to the pool. At this point he's
been living in the pool enclosure for several
weeks and is very comfortable, thank you very
much. He is very hard to catch.

From the regular droppings I clean up, he is

eating well, too. There are a lot of ants so maybe
that's the bulk of his food? Maybe he goes out.
I've reduced the amount of chlorine as much as I
dared and algae is already starting to grow. The
frog does not spend much time in the water but
usually is found lounging around the edge ready
to pounce back in.

When I vacuum the pool, he just stays out of the

way. If we swim, he goes to the bottom and
waits.

I eventually managed to lay hands on his

slippery little body. I used a board to close up the
filter opening, then I opened the filter trap door,
caught him in full leap with my left hand no less.
I put him in a jar and this time took him to a small
stream a kilometre away. I didn't let him look out
the window either! In my defense, the spot I
found for him was pretty much frog paradise.
Some deep water, snails, bugs, reeds, nice mud
to hide in. Trees nearby. No Chlorine.

I half expected him to show up in the pool within

a few days but I think the new home was to his
liking.

Was froggie being smart?

This episode surprised me. I did not expect so
much trouble from a frog.

First he found the pool and obviously liked it. It

was not a dry period and my swamp was full of
water and bugs, he did not need to move.
At first he was easy to catch, but learned quickly
how to evade me.

He also figured out very quickly how to get out of

the pool when he wanted to. There is only one
ladder and it does not look like anything he's
seen before. He had to figure that out for himself.

The first couple of times he came in, the pool

was wide open so he could walk right in but later
he had to figure out alternative routes.

I transported him and released him quite far from

the pool and he had to find his way back.

He also figured out to hide in the filter opening.

Is all this a sign of great intelligence? Maybe not,

but it showed that froggie leaned, and has
problem solving abilities to a greater extent than
I gave him credit for.

Video of a frog protecting it's tadpoles

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 Home Boats Photos Crow

Humber River walk Wee Snapper Fox

Opossum

[Email Christine]
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aTurtle Kit
program
where
trained
volunteers
take
observations
of frogs
in their
areas.

AnSafari
Ltd Life
Economist
Cycle on
article of
a Frog,
the
models
difference
between
town and
country
frogs.

Research
paper on
how
tadpole
learn to
recognize
new
predators