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Discoblog
« NCBI ROFL: The mystery of the missing Viking helmets
New Vibrating Jacket Lets Moviegoers “Feel” the Action »

Charge by the Hour? Scottish Volunteers Build Mating Motel for Frogs

froghotel.jpgFrogs in Scotland are being told to get a room, and for the good of the species, earth-conscious volunteers are helping them. As part of the Action Earth campaign, volunteers have constructed what they describe as an underground beehive to provide a safe place for frogs to mate, since their usual mating location—near ponds or other bodies of water—leaves them vulnerable to predators like foxes and herons.

Guests at the frog hotel, an enclosed, two-tiered space made from wood and recycled materials, are first greeted with a complimentary snack in the compost cafe, where insects and bees abound. They are then led up a ramp into the “sleeping area,” where they can, er, socialize to their hearts’ content, safe from attack and left only in the company of other frogs—up to 20 of them at a time.

Now all they need is a separate hotel for expectant mothers to lay their eggs—perhaps one that’s a little more child-friendly.

Related Content:
Discoblog: Bizarro Animal Sex Story of the Day
80beats: Frogs Get a One-Two Punch From Farm Chemicals
DISCOVER: Are Frogs Hopping Straight Into Extinction?
DISCOVER: Ladies’ Night in Animal Kingdom

Image: Courtesy of National Public Radio

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March 23rd, 2009 12:18 PM Tags: animal sex, endangered species, environment, frogs
by Rachel Cernansky in Sex & Mating, The Wide (& Strange) World of Animals | 2 comments | RSS feed | Trackback >

  • Christina Viering

    What a novel idea! I never would have thought frogs would conside using a hotel, but it makes so much sense.

  • http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2009/06/24/pork-lovers-can-now-pig-out-on-a-ham-once-nearly-extinct/ Pork Lovers Can Now “Pig Out” On a Ham Once Nearly Extinct | Discoblog | Discover Magazine

    [...] Content: Discoblog: Charge by the Hour? Scottish Volunteers Build Mating Motel for Frogs Discoblog: Empty Nesters: Pigeons on the Pill See Their Egg-Laying Thwarted Discoblog: [...]





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      Discoblog also includes the daily feature NCBI ROFL, in which two prone-to-distraction grad students post real scientific articles with funny subjects. Email your tips to ncbirofl [at] gmail.com. Follow the ROFL feed here.

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