Frog scream

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

In over 50 years observing and handling frogs I have rarely heard them make a sound. Today when raking leaves on the lawn, I came across a frog that emiited an extremely loud high pitched distress call, which continued for about 3 minutes until it crept into a crevice in the dry stone wall. I had read about the frog "scream" but had never actually heard it nor met anybody who had.
Just Sharing....and wondering if anybody else had ever heard it.

Tea Tree

yes! the frog was in a hen's beak at the time i hadn't a clue what I was hearing til I got close, shooed away the hen and it dropped the frog.

Mad sound!

Kess73

It is a sound that can give you a bit of a start if the frog is close to you and you were unaware of it being there. Have heard it quite a bit on and around Lough Derg when out fishing or hiking.



EDIT: Just had a quick look online to find a video of a frog screaming for folks who may not have heard the sound before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=948rhsRvIkw

axe2grind

OMG that's mad!
Have a pond, plenty frogs, but never heard that

fryup

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

in that video...is it screaming to frighten away the cat or because its in pain??

if its doing it to frighten the cat then that surely a sign of some level of intelligence ??

racso1975

fryup wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

in that video...is it screaming to frighten away the cat or because its in pain??

if its doing it to frighten the cat then that surely a sign of some level of intelligence ??

In relation ro the intelligence comment are they generally seen as not being intelligent?

Kess73

fryup wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

in that video...is it screaming to frighten away the cat or because its in pain??

if its doing it to frighten the cat then that surely a sign of some level of intelligence ??

It is a defence mechanism. Many animals do likewise when a potential predator has them cornered.

Is a mixture of trying to scare off the predator and also a method of bringing in some back up or another predator to see off the original predator.

Watch and listen to housesparrows when they are hiding in a hedge from a sparrowhawk. They will make a hell of a racket and vocalise in a manner that is totally different to when a different predator, say a cat, is around. The noise alerts other animals to the presence of the hawk, and sometimes it can bring in a rival hawk (if the first hawk is encroaching on territory), or it can bring in corvids etc that would then harrass the hawk, which in turn increases the chance of survival for the sparrows.

Even listen to starlings when a raptor is around. Totally different alarm call to what they make for a cat or corvid, and will up the volume something rotten in an attempt to scare the hawk and/or in a gamble to bring in back up.

Alun

Wow, never heard that before, very strange! Mind you, it is a Dutch frog (they call it a 'piepende kikker'!) so maybe they sound different

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Alun wrote: »

Wow, never heard that before, very strange! Mind you, it is a Dutch frog (they call it a 'piepende kikker'!) so maybe they sound different

No, this frog sounded exactly the same except mine screamed continuous for about 3 minutes until I lifted it in to a flower bed and it crept into the wall.

Alun

Makenna Lively Barrel wrote: »

No, this frog sounded exactly the same except mine screamed continuous for about 3 minutes until I lifted it in to a flower bed and it crept into the wall.

It was a joke I lived in Holland for 13 years, so the voice on the video jumped out at me.

fryup

racso1975 wrote: »

In relation ro the intelligence comment are they generally seen as not being intelligent?

well in fairness you wouldn't usually think of frogs as being intelligent

mattjack

Yeah I,ve heard and seen frogs scream before , amazing stuff .My mistake was not recording it.

Frogs also scream when you mention Mod Edit:.....tastless jokes!


Mod Note: A bit more maturity is preferred here Mattjack, that kind of 'humour' is more appropriate for After Hours

I'll leave you with your maturity so.

dodderangler

Reminds me of a screamapiller in the Simpsons.

Chisler2

Around 6 years ago when I lived in Essex, UK, I was awakened one hot summer night by alarming screams coming from the garden. It sounded like an infant. I went out into the garden with a torch and disturbed the two half-Siamese cats from next door, and saw one of the frogs from my garden pond lying by the side of the pond, obviously bitten and clawed.......so "yes"......I believe frogs scream, though apart from this anecdotal evidence I've never read or heard of it. I heard it subsequently - high-pitched screams from the garden - on a couple of subsequent summer nights. It all ceased when the next-door neighbours moved, taking their killer cats with them.