Distinguishing Features – Most familiar frog of Northwestern Ontario. large. Overall colouration, varying shades of green or brown; round black spots scattered randomly about the back and on the sides. Underside, plain white. Two light ridges down run along length of back. Forelimbs, spotted; hind legs, striped.
Size
8.9 cm (3.5 in)
Habitat
Common throughout Northwestern Ontario, the northern leopard frog is found in all water types – lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, large and small wetlands, even homemade ponds.
Breeding
Northern leopard frogs breed in May. A female may lay 3,000 to 5,000 eggs in a round mass. Tadpoles metamorphose in about three months.
Notes
Northern leopard frogs consume insects, earthworms, and other invertebrates.
They emit a low pitched snore often followed by a chuckling noise, or an urr, urr, urr.
Leopard frogs hibernate in deep water.
Populations in Northwestern Ontario have been declining in recent years due to habitat destruction, additions of roadways, pollution, and other factors.