Tag Archives: Southern Foam Nest Frog

All the water has turned iSimangaliso into frog heaven!

A wonderful consequence of the water wonderland that is the iSimangaliso Wetland Park now, is the incredible numbers of amphibians evident throughout the Park. I’m featuring just a few of them here.

Driving around the Park you cannot escape the calls of the Painted Reed Frogs, though they’re almost impossible to see without stepping out of your vehicle and searching for them (which isn’t allowed, due to the presence of dangerous animals). I was therefore very impressed with myself when I saw this Painted Reed Frog as I was driving by. See how small it is!

Can you spot the Painted Reed Frog?

Painted Reed Frog at a temporary pan on the eastern shores of Lake Saint Lucia

While using the facilities at one of the stopping points on the Western Shores of Lake Saint Lucia I noticed this Peeping Tom hiding in a corner. It is a Red Toad and I left him there to amuse the next visitor as well…

Red Toad in an ablution block in the Western Shores section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Platannas seem to have quickly colonized all the newly formed stretches of water in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, but usually quickly dive under water at the slightest disturbance. It was pleasing to find one that wasn’t too shy to pose for a few photo’s.

Platanna

It would be better if it cultivated a more apprehensive disposition though, because Platannas are on the menu of many waterbirds and in the 10 days I spent in iSimangaliso on this latest trip I saw many a Platanna disappearing down a gullet.

Reed Cormorant with a Platanna

After dark, hundreds of immature African Bull Frogs emerged onto the roads, especially following rainy days.

Immature African Bull Frog on a road in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Kumasinga Hide at uMkhuze Game Reserve has turned into a paradise for Southern Foam Nest Frogs, with dozens of the cute little creatures clinging to the hide’s framework, with a few foam nests already constructed over the water and a few still in the making (allowing me to make a video of the process).

The toes of a Foam Nest Frog

Foam Nest Frog in Kumasinga Hide

Foam Nest Frogs mating

Foam Nest Frog nests

Foam Nest Frogs mating

Remember that DeWetsWild will gladly assist you with reservations and guided tours of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park if you’d like to visit this wonderful place as well.

Peeping Toad

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This Foam Nest Frog was sitting on a signboard from where it had a perfect view through the window of the ladies bathroom in the camping area at Crocodile Bridge in the Kruger National Park.

Come to think of it, I probably didn’t look that kosher either, hanging around the ablution block with my camera…

This Foam Nest Frog was sitting on a signboard from whence it had a perfect view through the window of the ladies bathroom in the camping area at Crocodile Bridge in the Kruger National Park.

Southern Foam Nest Frog

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Chiromantis xerampelina

Foam Nest Frogs are excellently adapted to an arboreal lifestyle, living near seasonal and permanent water in the savanna biome and often seen inside houses and other buildings in these parts. At 9cm in length, adult females are slightly larger than males.

During spring and summer Foam Nest Frogs congregate around pools of standing water to mate. The female secretes a fluid from her oviducts and then, using their hind legs in a process that may take several hours, she and the attending males churn it into a thick white foam ball that attaches to a branch or other structure hanging over the water and in which up to 1,200 eggs, fertilised by several of the present males, are then laid. At times the mating frogs congregate in large groups creating enormous, collaborative foam nests. Inside the foam balls, now with a hardened outer edge and looking very meringue-like, the eggs and newly hatched tadpoles are kept moist and safe from smaller predators. When they are a few days old the tadpoles drop from the foam ball into the water to find food and complete their metamorphosis.

In South Africa, Foam Nest Frogs are commonly encountered in the north of Kwazulu-Natal, the lowveld of Mpumalanga and widely through the bushveld regions of Limpopo. They are also distributed widely over much of the rest of southern, central and eastern Africa. The IUCN considers it to be of least concern.