I Had a Close Encounter With the Largest Frog in Connecticut

Although they're a native species, I haven't come across a massive American Bullfrog in years, but it happened today in Torrington.

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We don't have many giants of the wildlife world in New England, we rarely have moose sightings in Connecticut, bears are becoming more common, but our amphibians, insects, and reptiles? Most are bite-sized, ours pale in comparison to the size of wildlife to our North and South. Growing up in Oklahoma I saw many massive bullfrogs, some weighed over a pound, and those legs? Bullfrogs can leap pretty far, the World Record is Rosie the Ribeter's 7.15 feet. We have a couple of famous frogs in Connecticut, they stand guard at Thread City Crossing on the South Street Bridge in Willimantic.

American Bullfrogs are native to Connecticut, they are loud ambush predators that will chow down on most any animal they believe they can overpower: birds, rodents, insects, snakes, and yes - bullfrogs, or any amphibians. That's why I was startled with my 6 pound Chihuahua.

I was walking my little guy along the Naugatuck River in Torrington and a bullfrog leaped off the bank, splashing into the water not 5 feet from us. It took a second to register what just jumped, and unfortunately, it was gone be the time I got my phone out to snap a pic. This photo is pretty close -

I've tried frog legs a couple of times in Oklahoma, I'm not a fan. As much as people try to convince you they taste like chicken, they don't. I tasted pond water, and gaminess that even the worst chicken never has. I'm sure it's a delicacy for some, but I don't expect to see it on the Frankie's menu next to the fried cheese cubes.