This is a subject I have had a long-standing interest in and it is remarkable
that I actually have an invitation to pontificate on a list server set up
for bird discussions. However, I must be brief but watch out for future posts.

It is interesting that the Wildlife Code of Washington requires a hunting
license for efforts to kill, injure, capture, or harass a wild animal or
wild bird. Of equal interest is the definition of wild animal which is
limited to species of the class mammalia and the bullfrog. Feral domestics
are, of course, excluded, as are old world rats and mice. The reasons for
requiring a hunting license for these activities includes an age old
enforcement issue. People found hunting or fishing without a license usually
explain that they are after whatever species requires no license. Loopholes
of this kind have been closed to allow enforcement to be effective.

There has been some internal debate on the classification of the bullfrog
as a game animal and the existence of bag limits. The Fish and Wildlife
Commission has heard arguments for unclassifying the species so that they
can be killed at any time, in any quantity, and with any chosen weapon. The
Fish and Wildlife Commission questioned whether such an action would be
effective in increasing bullfrog harvest. The species is not very
vigorously sought after in Washington. The Commission felt that profiling
the animal as a desireable game species and allowing liberal bag limits
would potentially be incentive for a greater harvest. I am a
semi-professional frogger and I have found that a 15 frog bag limit is
often not even possible.

On the issue of the bullfrog's effects on native fauna, solid research findings
are still fairly rare. Perhaps, in the future, I will pull together the
citations I am aware of so they can be easily shared. However, in many areas
bullfrogs achieve very high densities. In many instances, if you compare
before and after conditions at a site where a native frog like the leopard
frog or spotted frog has met its demise, you find that the bullfrog factor
is the most obvious change. That doesn't mean that bullfrogs must be
the cause, but until something else is identified, it is a leading suspect.

Bullfrog tadpoles are largely unpalatable to birds and fish while our native
ranids have very palatable tadpoles. This appears to give bullfrogs quite
a survival advantage. First year metamorphosed bullfrogs that I obtained
from Summit Lake in Thurston County were large enough to eat first year
metamorphosed red-legged frogs from the same location. And, in my aquarium,
they did!

I was going to be brief. Maybe I will abstract Sarah Cupferberg's work on
competitive displacement of foothill yellow-legged frogs by bullfrogs
in northern California in a future post. Most of the competitive interaction
was occurring between tadpoles. I could also tell you about our efforts to
eradicate bullfrogs from the western pond turtle ponds in the Columbia River
gorge. Unfortunately, complete eradication may not be a realistic goal.

Kelly McAllister
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife