African Bullfrog

Pyxicephalus adspersus

Range: Central, Eastern, and South Africa

Habitat: Found near waterways, streams, and rivers

in relatively open areas at low elevation.

Diet: The African Bullfrog is carnivorous and will eat

anything that it can fit in its mouth. This includes birds, small rodents, insects, and other
amphibians.

Lifespan: 40 years. It takes 1-3 years to physically mature, but it can take up to 20 years to
reach its full size.

Description: Broad, rounded head and thick body. Skin of both males and females is a dull,
olive green color and has a bumpy texture. Males have a yellow throat, while females have a
more cream-colored throat. The snout of the frog is short and rounded. Several tooth-like
projections in the lower jaw help the frog bite and hold its prey. The front legs are short and
lack webbing between the toes, while rear legs are extremely strong with webbed feet. African
Bullfrogs are the second largest frog and can weigh over 4 lbs. Unlike most other frog species,
male African Bullfrogs are much larger than the females. Males can reach up to 9.5” in length
and females can reach up to 4.5”.

Breeding: Female lays 3000-4000 eggs in shallow water. It takes about 18 days for the
tadpoles to turn into small frogs which can then move onto land. Survival rate of the babies is
very low, with only around 20% of young adult females surviving yearly.

Behavior/Adaptations: The bullfrog uses its strong hind legs to dig holes and spends the dry
season in a dry, watertight cocoon underground (estivation) to prevent body fluid loss. It can
survive for several months on fluid stored in its bladder. When water from the rainy season
soaks the cocoon enough to break it open, the frog eats it and emerges to breed. Males make
loud, throaty bellows and grunts during the breeding season. These frogs are very aggressive
and have been known to jump at anything that is considered a threat. It will attack with its
mouth open and swell its body up to make itself look more intimidating. African Bullfrogs have
been known to inflict serious bites on humans.

Predators: Nile monitor lizard, large wading birds, pelican, larger mammals, and humans.

Conservation Status: Not listed.

The Zoo’s African Bullfrog: Pickles was born in 2016.

Empathy Stories/Messages
• Giant African Bullfrogs are from the savannahs of Africa. They are from
the same habitat as lions, giraffes, and zebras. For most of the year the
African savannah is very dry and water is hard to find. During this time the
bullfrogs are burmating, or sleeping, underground. To keep their skin from
drying out during this time they form a thick crust of mucus around their
 body. They sometimes will stay this way for over two years! Would you like
to spend two years sleeping underground in your own body crust? When
the rain begins in the savannah it will rain for 2-4 weeks without stopping!
The rain will soak into the ground and the bullfrog with break out of its
crust and dig out of its underground den. When it comes out, the dry
savannah has turned into a vast wetland. The male bullfrogs, like Pickles,
will choose a territory to guard and females will choose a males territory to
lay 3,000-4,000 eggs. Once the eggs are laid, the female will hop off and
the male will stay to protect the eggs. After just a couple of days, the eggs
hatch into tadpoles. The males will stand guard and if another animal tries
to eat the tadpoles the dad will try to eat them first. African bullfrogs will
eat any animals that fit into their mouth including birds, lizards, and small
mammals! Once the rains have stopped the hot sun begins to dry up all the
water. The male bullfrog will watch the water levels in the tadpoles’ pool
and if they water gets to low, he will hop to the nearest pool and dig a
stream to connect the pool to his tadpoles’ pool. After about a month the
tadpoles have turned into froglets and can hop onto land, just in time to go
back underground and wait for the rains to return.
• When frogs eat, they have to use their eyes to push food down their throat.
Pretend you are a frog sitting on the edge of a pond. A juicy mosquito flies
by and you stick out your tongue and catch it. You don’t have teeth to chew
so you push your eyes into your head to push the mosquito down your
throat.
• Frogs have special skin that is different than our skin. A frog’s skin is thin
and like a sponge. This thin skin allows frogs to both drink water and
breathe air through their skin. Is that how we breathe and drink? No! Our
skin is much thicker than a frog’s. Things that are safe for us, like soap,
lotion, bug spray, and sunscreen can make frogs very sick. If you ever want
to pick up a frog, always make sure to rise your hands in water before you
touch them and wash your hand with soap after you touch them.

Lake Superior Zoo Conservation Message

Story (ages 6 and up): Amphibians have very sensitive skin and are
considered environmental indicators, which means that if something isn’t right in
our environment, then we may notice amphibian populations declining first
before other animals.

What you can do: Amphibians need healthy, non-polluted wetlands to survive.
Make sure trash goes into the garbage and reuse and recycle what you can. By
keeping garbage off the street, we are keeping it from blowing into wetlands.
Conserve water by turning off water while brushing teeth and by taking shorter
showers.
Information taken from the following sources:
http://www.honoluluzoo.org/african_bullfrog.htm
http://whozoo.org/Intro98/markdiss/mardis.htm
http://www.thebigzoo.com/Animals/African_Bullfrog.asp12/08