Invasive frogs in San Francisco pond evade eradication efforts

SFgate.com ^ | Sunday, May 9, 2004 | MIELIKKI ORG

[nickcarraway]

California biologists are expressing alarm over the latest invasive species to take up residence in this city: African clawed frogs, which can survive tough conditions, eat just about anything and tend to breed like crazy.

Even worse, they're kind of cute -- and thus more likely to be whisked away by children and dumped into other ponds, where they spread even more.

[SkyPilot]

Let us see if the Almighty sends locusts, hail, fire, and turns the water to blood next.

[nickcarraway]

ping

[Frank_2001]

"eat just about anything"

Including Frenchmen?;)))

[Atchafalaya]

The earth asunder thingy trumps amphib irritants and the rest.

[explodingspleen]

I suggest that they import and release African pythons to eat the frogs.

Of course, note that I never said I had San Fran's best interests at heart.

[Fester Chugabrew]

. . . as seen in SF.

[explodingspleen]

"water to blood next"

In San Franscisco, that would be an improvement. :p

[epigone73]

At first, I thought it was an article on French immigration.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Good news for French restaurants in SF.

Well, they could export them to France. Or maybe they could release hundreds of pythons in the wild in and around SF.

[TheLion]

Will they become the dominant form of life out there?...lol

[Carry_Okie]

Biologists theorize that their residence in Golden Gate Park's Lily Pond and in areas of Southern California may be due to researchers depositing the frogs in the ponds to save them from destruction.

Animal rights run amok. Of course, they don't give a damn for the native animals the frogs would remorselessly kill, they only care about their own consciences and their high opinion of themselves for their "sensitivity."

Typical.

Pet stores and collectors wary of being slapped with fines of up to $1,000 may have also have released them into local creeks and ponds.

Pray tell, what government agency allows "collectors and pet stores" to import these critters?

Getting rid of the frogs has proved to be a problem for the California Department of Fish and Game, which has suffering from severe budget cuts in recent years.

There will be plenty of money once it becomes a huge problem.

[boycott]

I believe the city of San Francisco could eradicate the frogs if they said it was related to the gerbil.

[RichInOC]

Hmmmm...would they call that froggy style?

[RichInOC]

...just be careful with those open flames....

[Atchafalaya]

Boss, a train, a train...

[RichInOC]

Of course, if they did that, you realize that some people would try to use those things as butt toys, don't you?

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

re: frogs & gerbils

Don't give them any ideas.

[Myrddin]

These frogs were very popular subjects for molecular biology when I was at UCSD from 1974 to 1974. We had buckets of Xenopus laevis frogs for research. We cloned whole frogs from a single skin cell. They are carnivores, aggressive and very capable of "outcompeting" anything in their own size class.

Letting these guys loose is on par with stocking a fresh water lake with piranha. I believe the one's that got loose in San Diego were in the Sweetwater river valley. They decimated all the local small critters.

[Nateman]

The Greenies whined when frog populations were dropping. Now they whine when it goes up. Do they really believe life on this planet is going to follow their whim of the moment?