Weird frog behaviour

[RamblingRose]

Hello,

We have just moved to a house with a small pond. Yesterday two live frogs spent the whole day clamped around a dead bloated frog of another species. When they finally let go we moved the dead one out of the pond. What were they doing? Were they killing it? It looked like two frogs with a grotesque inflatable toy, just floating about. Anyone know what was going on?

Thanks

RR

[hatless]

In the breeding season, February and March, usually, male frogs and toads are over-eager to mate and will clutch a female with grim desperation. Especially with toads, it can happen that several males will grip a female and none be able to kick the others off. When this happens, the poor female often drowns. This won't stop the males. They will hang on there while the female bloats up, as you've described, often for days before they decide nothing good is going to come of it.

But why they would be doing this at this time of year, I have no idea. I haven't heard of mating behaviour being triggered in the summer. You say the female was of a different species? Do you mean it was a frog and the others were toads (or the other way round?) There are two species of toads in the UK, but only one is widespread. Again, there is only one sort of frog in most of the country. And it might be difficult to identify either sort if it was bloated.

Not a very nice thing to find in your new pond! I hope it doesn't put you off. Frogs and toads are lovely animals, and their return every spring is a real delight.