Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had a nice full grown female bullfrog. Well, I had to put it in a river here on a warm day and let it go. It's still winter, and I don't know if it survived or not. Anyone out there know if a frog can stand the shock of letting it go, albeit on a warm day, and survive the cold into hibernation?

I really feel bad. Had a dream it died. My life went to hell recently due to a lost job, eviction from my apartment, etc.

It may not be too good for the bullfrog. The problem with releasing an animal in an unfamiliar habitat where it has to almost immediately hibernate is that it does not necessarily know where to go to get away from predators, make sure it does not freeze, and make sure it does not die from hypoxia. It is easy to assume that a resident bullfrog can have some of these locations worked out. BUT, chances are it is doing just fine, it probably found some soft mud right where you released it. Hopefully you did not feed it a few weeks before release, and hopefully bullfrogs are native to the area you released it to.
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)

The day I let it go was a warm, spring-like day. Mid-February. I put it by a river bank in a shallow pool adjacent to a concrete overhang that concealed a kind of den. Do you think she could've crawled under there and made it into hibernation?

Guess I'm feeling guilty and shooting in the dark. No, bullfrogs are not native here and are quite a menace. By the way, what is 'hypoxia?'

It's just that these frogs. . .they seem to get into your subconcious, your soul. The way it used to look at me, and the intelligence it conveyed, and the reality of its predicament at the end. . .the cold stare as it ambled towards my feet by the river bank. . .man, it moves my heart to think I abandoned it.

Oh, well, guess frogs get crushed on roads, eaten by people, preyed on by animals. I've got to look on the tough side of things now, and not play God. But sorry, all you frog-lovers, if I only had the right environment I could've made it all better. Asia is just packed with too many people.