LONDON FREE PRESS (Ontario) 10 January 07 Frogs get spring fever feeling (Neil Judson)
The balmy winter has London area frogs leaping out of hibernation into a deadly environment.
Tricked into thinking spring has arrived, frogs are weakening as they call for mates and look for food in vain.
"They're running their car fast with their foot on the accelerator," said Carleton University biology professor Ken Storey.
"They'll certainly have trouble in the spring."
Frogs store just enough energy to carry them through the winter months in an inactive state.
Frogs should either be frozen on land or buried under water at this time of year, Storey said.
At this rate, they'll be dead or too weak to reproduce when spring arrives.
Maple syrup maker Nelson McLachlan saw more than a dozen frogs leaping about while he strung sap lines in his bush near Parkhill last Saturday.
"Every senior person I've talked to has never seen frogs in January," he said.
The frogs are a reminder the wonky winter isn't just affecting the frustrated skier or the golfer looking for an extra round.
Pinery Provincial Park, near Grand Bend, has received reports of various frog species, said park spokesperson Melody Cairns.
She was startled to see a green frog recently and hopes the colder weather starts a retreat back into hibernation.
But the next few days of below-zero temperatures won't be enough to lure them back. A frog's sense of spring is difficult to break, said Storey.
"They'll ignore a couple days of cold . . . It'll take weeks to drive them back into hibernation."
Warm winters are not unheard of, but this year's effect on the ecosystem is unprecedented, Storey said.
"It's an extreme example of something that's been happening more and more in the last 10 years."
Frogs get spring fever feeling