It is this time of the year when frogs and toads return to the pond of their birth to mate and lay thousands of eggs in shallow waters.
These common frogs (Rana temporaria) were swimming among their eggs laid over a good square meter at one edge of their native pond. The breeding season spans from March to late June for this widespread species, so these are the very first eggs of the year. It only takes 2-3 days for these prolific animals to produce so many eggs, and once their business is done, males and females disperse, leaving their progeny behind to their own fate.
Within two to four weeks, depending on the weather conditions, gold-brown tadpoles will hatch out and begin their incredible metamorphosis into little froglets.
Location: Botanical Garden, Bayreuth, Germany
I like how the amphibians reproduce, everyone is in the same big pot, even the little guys can sneak in and get some fertilising done. However, paternity testing may cause some problems…
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Ahaha parternity tests… definitely! It looks very confusing to me, but it seems they are really flexible and social creatures!
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Flexible, social, and very tasty! hmmm…
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