HERALD-NEWS (Joliet, Illinois) 14 August 07 Rare Find In Wilmington (Kim Smith)
Wilmington: Natalie Reavis was canoeing July 31 along the Kankakee River when she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.
"I saw a big, blue bullfrog," Natalie said. "The problem was I was the only person to see it. I did not think anyone else ever believed me."
Natalie admits to having kind of a thing for amphibian critters. About a year ago, she caught a baby toad trying to get into their Florian Drive home. She put it into an aquarium, named it Cecil and took it to school with her. When she came home from school in Bloomington-Normal this summer, she let Cecil go back into the wild. Yet, the little toad still shows up sometimes at night by the door where she first found him.
"My friend even bought me a frog shirt," Natalie said.
Natalie and her father, Rick Reavis, are volunteer frog and toad monitors at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.
So it did not surprise Natalie when her cousin, Chuck Reavis of Joliet, spotted the blue frog while fishing the river Sunday. He made it his mission to catch the blue beast.
"It took him about three hours," Rick Reavis said. "Once, he had it but there was a hole in the net. I fixed the net and he went right back out. He really wanted to get it for her."
Very little information about blue bullfrogs can be found online. Debbie Greene, nature center superintendent for the Joliet Park District, had never heard of them. She recommended calling Dave DiNaso, owner of the Traveling World of Reptiles. DiNaso has about 15 years of experience working with the creatures. He was hesitant in confirming the find until seeing a picture.
"I was absolutely amazed," DiNaso said. "This is definitely a blue bullfrog. She has something very unique on her hands."
More than likely, a rare genetic defect has caused this abnormality. A lack of yellow pigmentation is probably the culprit that kept this frog's skin from turning green.
DiNaso said the blue bullfrog is more than likely a girl. Females are generally larger than males. The eardrums are different between male and female bullfrogs. Without examining the frog, he could not say for sure.
"They will eat anything they can fit into their mouths," DiNaso said. "Crickets, pinky mice and bait minnows are good. They should never feed (the frog) goldfish or keep it in tap water."
North American bullfrogs are 7 to 10 inches long and can live up to 10 years.
Rick Reavis estimates the blue frog to be about 4 years old and about 12 inches long when its legs are fully extended. He estimates the frog weighs about a quarter of a pound.
"They are great jumpers and can go 4 to 5 feet in one leap," DiNaso said.
Natalie Reavis is keeping the blue bullfrog, at least for now. The family purchased a 90-gallon aquarium for him to call home.
"I will not let him go somewhere where he will be poked and prodded by scientists," Natalie Reavis said. "I may at sometime let him go to a zoo or museum where he can be shared with the world."
DiNaso, of Downers Grove, is hoping someone from the Reavis family will bring the blue bullfrog to the Three Rivers Festival in Channahon on Sunday where he will perform with his reptiles.
"I would love to see it," DiNaso said.
Rare Find In Wilmington (Frog)