The golden poison frog is the most poisonous vertebrate in the world. Its
poison – which coats its skin – prevents nerves from transmitting impulses in
humans and other animals, leading to heart failure.

Now that we have your attention, relax. This golden beast lives in Colombia
and New Guinea.

Our Mountain frogs are of a much more benign nature.

Think: kissing cute.

Think: adorable eyes.

Think: great legs.

Susan Barnes, our dutiful biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife, encourages Mountain nature lovers to get out and see our frogs.

“But don’t take or capture them, it’s against the law,” she reminds us. “Go
enjoy, but leave them in the wild.”

Twelve native species of these amphibians live in Oregon. Five of them inhabit
the Mountain environment. Many are on the Oregon State Sensitive species
list. That means they have declining populations caused by habitat loss,
pollution, pesticides, climate change, infectious diseases, the pet trade, and
invasive plant and animal species.

Our long-legged critters are vital to the food chain. They are voracious eaters
of insects – especially mosquitoes. Tadpoles (the little frogs before
succumbing to metamorphoses and growing up) keep the waters clean by
eating algae.

Frog feet sport four digits on the front, five on the rear. They don’t leap to
impress us or just make a splash. They launch from their prodigious hind legs
to avoid predators.

The normal life span is 7 to 14 years, but some have been known to reach the
ripe old age of 40.

Mountain inhabitants
The Pacific tree frog is the most common in our neighborhood.
“It’s also the most vocal,” Barnes said. “It’s the one most people hear – and
complain about.”

Because of its vocal quality, it’s also called the Pacific chorus frog. Their
chorus is the most often used in movie sound tracks. They are the smallest of
frog species in Oregon – checking in at a miniscule two inches in length. They
can be found quite distant from water, including meadows, woodlands, brush
habitats and pastures during the non-breeding season. They are inactive
during freezing weather.

The Northern red-legged frog derives its name from striking red underlegs.
The females grow to four inches in length – twice the size of males. During
the non-breeding season they hang around on land in moist brush, along
shaded pond edges, or under logs.

Unlike their Pacific tree frog cousin, you will probably never hear them. They
sing under water.

The Cascades frog prefers higher elevations. They grow to three inches in
length.

They use woody debris, mud or vegetation for cover from predators, and
spend the winter hibernating in mud. When they awake they will take to wet
meadows and hang out along high forest streams.

The Western toad is the only toad that toads around the Mountain. They live
mainly on land, from forests to meadows. They dig their own burrows or hide
under logs and rocks.

Toads differ from frogs in that they have shorter legs they use to hop around,
rather than enjoying the glorious leaps of the frog.

Toads also are stuck with a toothless grin, while frogs sport upper jaw teeth.
The bulging eyes of the frog are not shared by toads.

Unfortunately, the American bullfrog has found a home on the Mountain.
“This frog doesn’t belong here,” Barnes said. “It was introduced in the 1920s
and 30s to harvest for eating its legs.”

This unwanted, non-native, invasive frog survives and reproduces successfully
throughout Oregon. It aggressively competes for food and living space with
native frogs, and will eat newborn native turtles and frogs. The American
bullfrog also out-produces our native amphibians.

Where are they now?

Hibernating.

They’re secreted under logs, bushes, lawn furniture, garages. This inactivity
preserves and regulates body temperatures.

“Still, it would not be uncommon to hear an occasional croak,” Barnes said.
But when winter loosens its hoary grip, our Mountain frogs will signal the
arrival of spring, with what else?

A mighty spring.