The Endangered Kloof Frog!

Here is one of South Africa's Endangered frog species, the Kloof Frog!

Kloof Frogs (Natalobatrachus bonebergi), must be one of the most interesting frog species around. They have a rather unusual reproductive cycle.

They lay large clutches of eggs, around 100 at a time! They lay the eggs in what's like a big mass of jelly! It is quite strange looking. They lay these large egg clumps on leaves, branches, or on rocks overhanging water.

Tadpoles develop quickly inside the eggs, within a few days. If you look into the egg clump, you can actually see each individual tadpole, and you can even see them moving, just with the naked eye! It's amazing! After about a week the tadpoles hatch. They usually just drop into the water if the egg clump is on a branch or rock, but if it's on a leaf it is more interesting to watch. They can be seen breaking out of the nest, and swimming down the leaf, eventually dropping into the water and swimming off!

During dry periods, females will urinate on the egg clumps to keep them moist. Adults are generally found close to the eggs.

They breed in the warmer months, and egg clumps can be seen from September right up until June! Their breeding season lasts quite a bit longer than most frog species.

Kloof Frogs are also active during the day and night, unlike most frog species which are active only at night. They live and breed in rocky streams, in closed canopy areas. They can be found in large numbers in some areas. They have a soft call, a clicking noise which isn't so easy to pick up.

They occur in the Northern Eastern Cape, and coastal areas of KwaZulu-Natal. It is a small range, threatened by habitat destruction and pollution, like most of our wildlife unfortunately!

These really are fascinating little frogs, which not many people know about. Let's hope their remaining habitats remain untouched, and that we can continue observing their interesting life cycles for many decades to come!

Below are some photographs, some showing their breeding habits.