my boss has just been telling me about a horrible frog massacre going on overnight at his pond. over the past three or four mornings he's finding loads of dead frogs around the edge. 15 the first morning, then another 6, then another 15 :(
one has been decaptitated, one missing a leg, the rest in tact but a bit mangled and bitten. horrible. he wants to know who or what might be responsible. he thinks cat or fox. I think it's unlikely to be a cat killing that number, although I'm willing to be corrected. I think more likely to be fox: don't they kill everything then come back to take the bodies away to hide as food stores for later?
Are there little piles of spawn left lying about? It could be a heron, but they often leave the spawn.
When you have had a Heron visit, doesn't it leave a film of oil on the top of the pond?
When they were cutting down some overgrown land by us we had an infestation of rats. They nested underneath the 5ft long pond filter. when we got it out after the rats had been got rid of we found the hole full of dead frogs. have you got any rats by you. :-\
could be heron or rats â€" he's seen both :(
I think herons prefer fish. We have to cover our filter witha cage cos they do get drawn into the pump and they will lose their limbs if they manage to get out. But the amount of frogs that you mention seems as if it could be a fox or maybe a cat.
my cat caught a frog once I took it away and it lived I,m sure others will say I,m wrong but i think it was too tough and nasty tasting for him as i havn,t seen him with one since despite having loads in the garden
margaret
Our cats have occasionally caught a frog & played with it making them scream but never killed any & I certainly don't think a cat would kill that many. No idea what it could be but interested to know if you ever find out.
A long shot I know but keep your eyes open for a terrapin. A friend told me he lost a lot of ducklings once because some kind soul liberated a pet when it had got too big for its tank.