One of the things I most love about moving to a new place – especially when it’s a new country or continent – is having a slew of different and unusual experiences.
Mother Nature never disappoints in that regard.
One of these occasions arose the other night when I got home after midnight one evening and heard this (click here):
A sick cow or buffalo?
Perhaps a deer?
A cat in heat?
A zombie??
I actually started to get a little nervous, since this is our first Springtime in Hong Kong and I had no idea what creatures lurk in the dark here. It was pitch black, pouring rain, and the noise seemed to be echoing and getting louder as I approached a large open field to investigate.
Turns out it’s a frog. Or an army of frogs. Or possibly a knot of toads, which are actually also frogs, I just learned. I also learned that a group of toads is referred to as a knot. Who knew?
But I digress.
This crazy noise is coming from some frog-like creature? Upon closer examination, the noise was coming from a few drain pipes, where the frogs like to hang out in the wet weather, causing the noise to echo and expand and sound almost…well, zombie-like.
Apparently this somewhat disturbing and boisterous serenade is typical on wet evenings (as frogs are nocturnal) and a sign that they’re feeling frisky. In the name of love, the male frogs croak (and moan, it sounds like from the clip) in order to attract female frogs for mating and to warn other male frogs to get lost.
This goes on until the end of Spring.
Sounds like ear plugs are in order.
FULL DISCLOSURE: the image of the front on this post is not one of the Actual Frogs in the recording. He’s probably not even from Hong Kong, but rather likely hails from either Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan or India. It is, in fact, called an Indian Bullfrog and is renowned for its large size (some can be up to 15 centimeters in length!) and dramatic coloring.
I leave you with some Fun Frog Facts:
Frogs are survivors. Some frogs survive winter by burrowing underground and turning into frozen frogsicles! Sugars in the blood act as antifreeze that protects the organs from damage, while the rest of the body freezes solid.
Frogs have awesome vision. Why is it so hard to sneak up on a frog? Because with those big bulgy eyeballs, the frog can see in all directions without moving its head – even when everything but its eyes and nose are underwater.
Frogs use their eyes to swallow! When a frog swallows a meal, it squeezes its large eyes closed. The eyes actually sink down into the frog’s head, helping to push the food down the frog’s throat.
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