As spring came to our little pond, I was surprised to find a full size bullfrog this early in the season. (One of my favorite of many posts on this topic here.) He parked himself in one of the pond plant pots, with eyes and nose just above the water line, catching bugs, etc.

I noticed a short delay in his decision to jump away from me, so I wondered if I could swiftly move in and grab him by hand (vs. the net technique I had used in the past.) Sure enough, I came in low and swiftly the next time he returned, grabbed him with my hand, and tossed him out into the yard.

Stout loved this. It seems bullfrogs only have six to eight good hops in them, before they get tired. Every time he hopped away, Stout rushed to the next spot to sniff him. It was terribly exciting for Stout. After getting hopped-out, the bullfrog resorted to a defensive posture with nose to the ground, hindquarters in the air, and sides puffed out. “I’m too big to eat, and I smell like a frog butt,” is the message.

That was two weeks ago. Since we have no goldfish to protect, I tossed him back in the pond. But this weekend I discovered we have two small frogs in the pond, too. To give them a better chance at survival, I decided to evict bullfrog #5. Stout and I repeated the catch process, and this time, after being hopped-out, Stout and I took the frog to the storm drain. He was last heard splashing down the pipe that exits in another part of the neighborhood.