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Old 19-10-2013, 12:45 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Mentalguy2k8[_2_] Mentalguy2k8[_2_] is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jul 2010
Posts: 61
Default OT? Keep finding dead frogs


"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
news
On Sat, 19 Oct 2013 09:44:26 +0100, "Mentalguy2k8"
wrote:

On the front path and driveway. Seem to be fully grown, no bits missing,
no
obvious injuries just dead and still clammy. I've found 6 so far. I'm not
near any kind of "frog habitat" that I'm aware of, but I do know we have
foxes around at night. Long story short, the front garden (or the air?) is
the only possible way for them to end up where they do and the front
garden
has a pavement and road to the front, and same to one side. I've never
seen
a live frog in the garden, they just keep turning up dead although they
look
alive and I make sure I poke them to be sure.

Either I've upset the French Mafia, or there's some other explanation.
Anyone got any idea? My money is on the foxes or cats, but I just can't
see
any injuries on them.


There is a virus that's killing frogs and other amphibians on a large
scale and is causing concern (Ranavirus), but it seems unlikely they'd
specifically choose your front drive to expire on. See
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/ear...-of-frogs.html

Cat?


Probably cat. They're always still "wet" when I find them and not
decomposing or fly-ridden so I suppose something must be bringing them here
and scaring them to death in the process. I just don't know where they could
be coming from, there's a guy a few doors down with a pond in his back
garden, but due to the layout of this house and others, it's a pretty
convoluted journey all the way around to the front and I'd have expected to
see them outside the back door. Perhaps someone on the opposite side of the
road has some kind of frog-friendly habitat. I can't imagine any frog being
in this particular spot unless he'd been brought here.

I thought it may be foxes because I see one running up and down the (fairly
busy) road some evenings, plus one morning I came out and found a "nest"
underneath the front hedge, something had got hold of a bag of rubbish (not
mine, wheely bin is secure) and made a little bed out of carrier bags and
used nappies, nice clean-up for me, along with the piles of fox-crap I
regularly find. I nearly ran him over one night when I drove home in the
dark, swung into the driveway and he was sat in the middle of it.