Green frog

The green frog is probably the frog most people recognize. It is especially well known in spring, when the males call loudly in competition over which of them gets to mate with the females. When the frogs are fully occupied with mating, they are easy to catch, but also fun to watch with their large “trumpet cheeks”, or vocal sacs as they are called. When the females’ eggs are laid and fertilized, typically in May, the eggs can be seen as large jelly-like clumps among the water plants. After only about a week, the eggs hatch, and for the next one to two months there will be tadpoles before they transform into small frogs.

The green frog is unusual in several ways. Firstly, it is originally a hybrid between two other frogs – the marsh frog and the pool frog – which are extremely rare in Denmark. Secondly, it spends a large part of its life in and around water. Many other frogs and amphibians live on land in moist areas and only come to small ponds and pools to mate.