4 ms·

I find it exceedingly improbable that he has actually bred that many frogs. The 1.4million estimate comes from _him_, on TikTok. None of the videos show anywher

I find it exceedingly improbable that he has actually bred that many frogs. The 1.4million estimate comes from _him_, on TikTok. None of the videos show anywhere near that amount. Even if they only measured 1cm^3 that'd still be more than a cubic metre of frogs completely packed -- wouldn't fit in his pond. I also do not see the danger of relocation, he has harvested the eggs from the same place he used to breed the frogs. IMO this is just plain alarmist.

proxysna 4y ago
It was pointed out multiple times that frog guy took footage from random frog videos off youtube. While acts like that are dangerous, this whole thing is blown out of proportion, and guardian is a few weeks too late.
Someone 4y ago
The claim is 1.4 million eggs that have hatched into tadpoles. For some species of frog, the average number of eggs laid exceeds 10,000. If we’re talking of such a species and all of them were to hatch, that would take less than 140 female frogs.
- mutatio 4y ago
  Upper ceiling on the Common frog found in the UK is 2000 eggs. So that's 700 females spawning at max capacity. Having lived in areas where these frogs are common, I don't believe the numbers for a second.
pvaldes 4y ago
Even if all went as planned, and we forget all about the epidemic that is killing frogs, we are talking about removing millions of viable eggs from the nature. Eggs from a species in decline and, even worse, bragging about it. Just to pack "millions of them" in a place that can sustain food for, maybe, one hundred tadpoles?. Does not seem like a wise move. Would compromise the success in the breeding areas for nothing. And would be clearly illegal in many countries. Rescuing tadpoles to a pond (in the same area) could be "justified" in a few cases like a temporary mud puddle that is drying really fast, but messing with the ecosystems just for likes is an horrible idea.
- dj_mc_merlin 4y ago
  > removing millions of viable eggs This is the part I do not agree with. There is no way he was able to harvest that many eggs. We're talking about multiple wheelbarrows worth of eggs that would have had to be found (in murky terrain, hard to see), harvested, transported.. this is not a one-teenager project. Nowhere in the videos does he show any sort of tools more advanced than a bucket to help with this -- you would not be able to do it with a bucket. Other commenters have pointed out his videos were stolen from Youtube, so the amount of eggs he actually probably harvested from nature is 0.
post_break 4y ago
So I have a medium sized koi pond in a residential area. The frogs have insane orgies in there every year. When the tadpoles finally turn into frogs the size of raisins I have to watch where I walk when heading to my car or coming back in so I don't step on them since they are everywhere. 1.4 million is a lot of frogs, and I don't think even my frog orgy produces that many.
bastawhiz 4y ago
Moreover, tadpoles don't just grow magically into full sized frogs. What are they eating? There's simply not enough biomass available in any location to support that many frogs growing to maturity and then keeping them alive. Unless you've got 100M ladybugs, I guess.
- willcipriano 4y ago
  What do you feed the ladybugs? Buy a billion aphids?

proxysna 4y ago

It was pointed out multiple times that frog guy took footage from random frog videos off youtube. While acts like that are dangerous, this whole thing is blown out of proportion, and guardian is a few weeks too late.

Someone 4y ago

The claim is 1.4 million eggs that have hatched into tadpoles. For some species of frog, the average number of eggs laid exceeds 10,000. If we’re talking of such a species and all of them were to hatch, that would take less than 140 female frogs.

mutatio 4y ago
Upper ceiling on the Common frog found in the UK is 2000 eggs. So that's 700 females spawning at max capacity. Having lived in areas where these frogs are common, I don't believe the numbers for a second.

pvaldes 4y ago

Even if all went as planned, and we forget all about the epidemic that is killing frogs, we are talking about removing millions of viable eggs from the nature. Eggs from a species in decline and, even worse, bragging about it. Just to pack "millions of them" in a place that can sustain food for, maybe, one hundred tadpoles?. Does not seem like a wise move. Would compromise the success in the breeding areas for nothing. And would be clearly illegal in many countries. Rescuing tadpoles to a pond (in the same area) could be "justified" in a few cases like a temporary mud puddle that is drying really fast, but messing with the ecosystems just for likes is an horrible idea.

dj_mc_merlin 4y ago
> removing millions of viable eggs This is the part I do not agree with. There is no way he was able to harvest that many eggs. We're talking about multiple wheelbarrows worth of eggs that would have had to be found (in murky terrain, hard to see), harvested, transported.. this is not a one-teenager project. Nowhere in the videos does he show any sort of tools more advanced than a bucket to help with this -- you would not be able to do it with a bucket. Other commenters have pointed out his videos were stolen from Youtube, so the amount of eggs he actually probably harvested from nature is 0.

post_break 4y ago

So I have a medium sized koi pond in a residential area. The frogs have insane orgies in there every year. When the tadpoles finally turn into frogs the size of raisins I have to watch where I walk when heading to my car or coming back in so I don't step on them since they are everywhere. 1.4 million is a lot of frogs, and I don't think even my frog orgy produces that many.

bastawhiz 4y ago

Moreover, tadpoles don't just grow magically into full sized frogs. What are they eating? There's simply not enough biomass available in any location to support that many frogs growing to maturity and then keeping them alive. Unless you've got 100M ladybugs, I guess.

willcipriano 4y ago
What do you feed the ladybugs? Buy a billion aphids?