Check your pond for frog eggs

Tegan PhillipsThe Kimberley Echo
Camera IconA Litoria Splendida green tree frog. Credit: Ruchira Somaweera

There are many things we love about our wet season here in Kununurra, the waterfalls, the vivid contrast in colours, and of course our favourite amphibian — the green tree frog.

You can find them on a humid night or after rain hanging around the house, quite often finding a comfy piece of porcelain — the toilet bowl — to call home.

If you haven’t seen them you would have heard them. Yes, that familiar baritone sound you hear coming from your down pipes when the rain starts to pour is indeed our sweet little tree frogs looking for love.

These guys unfortunately have also become one of the many victims of the infamous cane toad. This is through the mistaken identity of their eggs and tadpoles. There is a clear difference, and if you know what you’re looking for you can help our little friends out.

Tree frog eggs are laid in a jelly-like clump or sheet and when handled they slip through the fingers, in comparison to cane toad eggs that are laid in a long chain of single eggs. You can quite literally pull these strands out of the water while they remain intact.

So before you rid your pond of potential toad eggs, check a little closer, you might just have some baby Kermits instead.

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