Giant frog discovered in Jamaica

Old Harbour News received an image of the giant creature which was seen hanging from a tree by a cord.

According to information received sometime last week, men from the community were fishing in the Jacks River when they saw the massive creature. So frightened by its size, the men ran away before returning with a fishing spear gun.

When contacted by Old Harbour News on Monday, Damion Whyte, environmental officer at the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) confirmed that the image was authentic.

He, however, was quick to point out that the image being circulated appears to have been super imposed and gives a false impression of its actual size.

“Him (the frog) don’t get that big man. It’s how the person took the picture and frame it. Some of them would be two times the size of what we called bullfrog, which is a toad,” Whyte, a environmental researcher at the University of the West Indies, said.

The American bullfrog generally average up to eight inches in length, even though larger ones have been discovered.

According to Whyte the amphibious frogs were introduced to Jamaica in the 1960s for potential meat consumption but the intention never materialised due to our culture which viewed the sight of frogs repulsive and apprehensible.

While not visible on a regular basis, many American bullfrogs can be found in our rivers and streams all across the country.

And based on information gleaned from several online sites such as National Geographic and Wikipedia, the American bullfrog is native to North America, specifically the southern and eastern parts of the United States and Canada. They have been subsequently introduced to the regions of Central and South America, Western Europe and parts of Asia.

It is a delicacy in many of these countries which also trade frog legs internationally for human consumption.

Of more familiarity here in Jamaica is the toad –  which is a common name for certain frogs, known in Jamaica for its dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering its back and lives in more terrestrial habitats like in our backyards.

The public is being urged not to not to go hunting the American bullfrogs and kill them as they are harmless and do not pose any threat to humans or animals.