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Invasive of the month
By East Kootenay Invasive Species Council
AMERICAN BULLFROG (Lithobates catesbeianus)
The American bullfrog is the largest frog in B.C. Adults can grow to 18-20 cm long, not including the legs.
Bullfrogs were imported to B.C. for frog leg farming. They have since established throughout the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island from Victoria to Campbell River, and west to Port Alberni. They have also been found on several Gulf Islands and in the Kootenays.
The American bullfrog is the largest frog in B.C. Bullfrogs were imported to B.C. for frog leg farming from their native range of Eastern North America. American bullfrogs usually live in areas with warm, slow-moving water and lots of vegetation, like ponds, lakes, ditches, and slow-moving streams.
They are predators with a big appetite and will eat almost anything they can fit into their mouths, including other frogs, salamanders, young turtles, small rodents, many insects, and garter snakes.
This diet makes American bullfrogs a serious threat to BC’s wetland wildlife including the Northern red-legged frog (Rana aurora) and the Western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii), both species at risk.
East Kootenay Invasive Species Council image
