KERRY’S GREAT FROG SPECTACLES
SUCCESSION OF MILD WINTERS LEADS TO HOPPING GREAT SCENES IN KERRY
ONE of the great spectacles of the natural world in these parts is taking place on an even greater scale at present as frogs come together to breed in massive numbers amid a spike in the population following a number of mild winters.
Individuals of our only species of frog, the Common Frog (Rana Temporaria), are forming slippery balls of writhing frog flesh larger than have been seen in years in a frantic dash by males to grab hold of a female to spawn a new generation.
The scenes are playing out in remote ponds across the county with a particularly massive spawning ball captured by photographer Domnick Walsh this week at a location on the North Kerry coast wildlife interests ask to leave unidentified for fear of the damage large numbers of human visitors might cause.
Domnick captured the spectacle in all its slimy glory - from the teeming ball to the successful males who somehow managed to stave off competitors to grab a partner in this life-giving dance.
“The males will climb up on a female, grab them and will hold on until the female lays her eggs, which they then fertilise with their sperm. There’s no internal contact at all,” Kerry wildlife expert John Lavery explained.
“It’s one of the great spectacles of the natural world in Ireland and seems to be happening now in greater numbers. We’ve had a succession of mild winters and that can lead to a spike in population as seems to be the case at the moment.”
The mating game seems to be happening a little later than usual, however.
“You would usually witness these scenes in late January or early February and I had expected to see it by then this year given the mild winter so it’s happening a bit later than usual. But it’s a great indicator of a healthy environment where we do witness it taking place.”
Spawning can last for up to ten days. “You’ll hear them ever before you see them, a chorus that can become deafening but as soon as you approach and cast a shadow they go deathly quiet. And after a week to ten days it’s all over, they’ve done what they have had to do and go their separate ways back to solitary lives.”
Another fascintating aspect of the life cycle is the programming that sends each individual frog back to the pond in which it hatched to spawn.
“It’s well borne out by DNA research now that frogs go back to the very pond in which they were themselves born in order to spawn, just like salmon,” John said.
And if only the tiniest fraction of the tadpoles hatch, the spawning has succeeded. “If just two frogs make it through to adulthood from 20,000 eggs then they’ve done their job. All that is needed to keep the population on a level is one pair.
“The tadpoles will emerge in late May/early June and if they survive the many threats, from birds, and what else they will be ready to spawn themselves after two to three years.”
Lucky individuals can even live for a decade, returning year-in, year-out to their own birthing pond to mate.
The common newt - our only species of salamander - is also hale and hearty in number; on a par with the frog population although slightly harder to spot.
The spike in numbers might also shed light on the scenes witnessed in another part of the Kerry coast last week. Locals in Beale were agog to find hundreds of frogs and newts suddenly turning up in massive numbers in the community, leading to a bad mess on the roads.
It was so unusual for the area that locals feared the little creatures were fleeing from a bog just hundreds of metres away where large machinery was clearing peat as part of a wind farm development.
John thinks it likely the result of a spike in population, with roads a huge danger: “In England where they’ve built motorways between frogs and birth ponds you get huge roadkill. Nothing will stop them getting back to spawn.”