| Tadpoles not maturing
We have hundreds of tadpoles in our pond but up to now only a few have developed any back legs and some look no bigger than they did at hatching. Some years ago I remember froglets hopping through the flower beds in mid-summer. The pond is crystal clear, has plenty of plants and small life but no fish. I have been in contact with some other sites on the web where there have been similar reports of tadpoles not maturing. Is this something anyone comes across regularly ? Our frog population has crashed in the past 6 years. I have a photo taken in 2002 of some 15 frogs all together by the pond (and there were as many dotted around) but this year we hardly see 2 together. I have only found 1 dead one and that was about 3 years ago. A bit worrying ! Any comments would be welcome. |