Life History of Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center’s Northern Green Frog
Carpenter Nature Center’s Northern Green Frog was rescued in the spring of 2020 when a nearby wetland overflowed and Green Frog tadpoles were washed into the nearby field. We believe that our Green Frog is a female. In Green Frogs, the female eardrum, called the tympanum (tim-pan-um), is roughly the same size as her eye. If she were a male, the tympanum would be almost double the size of the eye.
Tadpoles rescued in the spring of 2020 were raised by a CNC Naturalist before being released into the pond.
Carpenter Nature Center’s Northern Green Frog is a wonderful ambassador, teaching thousands of visitors every year about our natural environment and the diversity of wildlife life found in our region. Our frog will live a comfortable life with humans, as she is provided with all the food she needs and safety from predators. She may even live to be ten years old which is much older than the typical 3-year lifespan of a wild Green Frog.
Northern Green Frogs are common across Minnesota and Wisconsin. However, worldwide, 1/3 of amphibians are threatened or endangered. To help local frogs please do not use pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. These chemicals are washed into local waterways and cause deformities in developing tadpoles and death in adult frogs. If you have a frog as a pet, please do not release it back to the wild. Captive frogs may have an infectious disease that could spread to the wild population. Instead, consider donating the frog to a local nature center or to a classroom teacher. You can visit the Northern Green Frog at Carpenter Nature Center daily from 8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. in the Visitor Center.