The turquoise frog in Victor Berthelsdorf’s pond may look pretty, but for local turtles, bugs and other animals, it is anything but. Berthelsdorf first spotted the brilliantly colored American bullfrog on his property in McMinnville last year. Now, he said, the frog is a little bigger.
The blue bullfrog is a female, he said, because of the small size of her tympanic membranes, which cover the ears . Most American bullfrogs are shades of green and brown. Blue bullfrogs are rare.
In 2020, one was spotted in Indiana and another in Ohio . These blue frogs have a genetic mutation called “axanthism,” that stops their skin from producing yellow pigment. “They’re really pretty, actually,” Berthelsdorf said.
But, he added, “Bullfrogs, of course, are very highly invasive here. And they eat anything they can get their mouth on that will get in their mouth.” One species especially impacted by the introduction of bullfrogs decades ago is the Northwestern pond turtle.
Different agencies are working to save the turtles from the jaws of the bullfrogs and extinction, including the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oregon Zoo. Part of the zoo’s effort involves collecting hatchling turtles from local ponds and helping them grow in safety. Bullfrogs are prolific and, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife , can lay almost 10 times more eggs than native frogs.
They can eat almost anything, from other frogs to ducklings to pond turtle hatchlings. “.