Frogs take up Residence in the Everything Dinosaur Office Pond

Last year we had our first frog spawn laid in the office pond.  We had been monitoring the pond for sometime, but 2008 was the first time that frogs had decided to spawn in it.  The spawn was laid on the 16th March last year and we have been eagerly looking forward to seeing if the frogs would spawn in our pond again this year.

As we work quite late these days, (some team members don’t leave the office until 10pm), we have been able to watch a couple of frogs late at night as they emerge from their winter hideaways and prepare for the mating season.  We have two frogs in residence in and around the pond at the moment.  These are common frogs (Rana temporaria) and at the moment we think that both these animals are males.  We have noticed how bold the frogs have become, one of them sat on the stone flags that surround the pond for over an hour this morning.  It was sunbathing in the spring sunshine, quite exposed to any cats or other predators.  We have alerted the rest of the team and we will try to keep a look out in case a hungry hunter comes along.  We have speculated that this near suicidal approach may have a lot to do with demonstrating to rival males that the pond is occupied and within the territory of a male.  After the mating season, the frogs become much more cautious and remain in the more inaccessible areas of the pond, perhaps the lure of females encourages these little amphibians to show a little more bravado at this time of year.

We will keep a close watch on the pond and see if we get any frog spawn in a couple of weeks or so.

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