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Trustfulness |  |
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Trustfulness with the Iberian water frog (rana perezi)
As in midsummer the mating season is over, the Iberian water frogs have only one thing in mind: eating in order to get fattened up for winter. The whole day they are lurking for anything which moves and can be eaten. At one point in the pond I always put the leftovers of dog food, which of course attracts the flies. And to this place the Iberian water frogs are heading already in the very early morning:
Because I am often present at this area to make photos, the frogs accept myself as a non dangerous animal. The flight distance is very small. But what happens putting the stretched hand there?
Well, this happens and ...
... also this here:
The reason for such trustfulness is of course not, that the frogs like me very much. No, the reason is, that I am attracted by flies and my arm is like a hunting area for them:
But those are only the males who do that. Never a female jumped on my arm. They obviously are much more careful:
Let's try again:
Already the first male on the hand and ...
... only fractions of a second later the next:
July 2010
Birgit Kremer