Northern leopard frog

Northern leopard frogs may be green or brown, with dark rounded or oval spots bordered in a paler color. Pale folds run along the sides of the back, and the underside is light. Their voice offers another clue: a snoring sound interrupted by grunts or chuckles, rather than the comb-like call of a boreal chorus frog. Listen from the bank before looking for the animal. The markings and call are useful together, especially where more than one frog species may be present.

A leopard frog needs a landscape with several jobs covered. Breeding takes place in shallow, still water with vegetation; eggs attach to plants, and tadpoles develop in the water. Adults and juveniles also feed in adjoining wet meadows and other moist ground, where they take small invertebrates. In cold conditions they overwinter in water. Protecting just a pond while removing the vegetated connections around it can overlook important parts of that life cycle.

Northern leopard frogs have declined in parts of their western range, with habitat loss, introduced predators, disease and changing aquatic conditions among the concerns. Utah's current conservation-priority list includes the species, but that designation should not be confused with an ESA listing. Local occurrence is uneven: an attractive marsh or a historical report is not proof that frogs are there today. A quiet sighting is best documented with a photograph and notes that do not require picking up the frog.

Green or brown frog with pale-bordered dark spots and pale side ridges; distinctive snoring/grunting breeding call.

A species of greatest conservation need in Utah.

Stay out of egg-laying shallows, do not handle frogs or move water, plants or animals between ponds, and keep pets away from the margin.