Finally!

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Rancorrye
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Finally!

Post by Rancorrye »

Its been awhile since I've found any of these guys. I was getting a little concerned they were no longer in this pond. I was able to get out yesterday afternoon for a couple hours and found 3.

ImageNorthern Leopard Frog by Rye Jones, on Flickr

ImageNorthern Leopard Frog by Rye Jones, on Flickr

ImageNorthern Leopard Frog by Rye Jones, on Flickr

Rye
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asher1027
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Re: Finally!

Post by asher1027 »

I haven't seen any leopards since Otero. Great shots! I really like the bottom one.
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Rancorrye
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Re: Finally!

Post by Rancorrye »

Thanks!
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Brian Hubbs
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Re: Finally!

Post by Brian Hubbs »

What county is that pond in? N. Leopards seem to be getting scarcer in UT.
Brian Eagar
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Re: Finally!

Post by Brian Eagar »

Nice shots Rye.
I find leopards to be very common everywhere but the salt lake and Utah county valleys. There they are pretty much a lost cause in those areas due to bullfrogs, pollution and habitat degredation. Pretty much every other county has tons of them though.

Curious Hubbs when the last time you looked for leopard frogs in Utah was that you would make a statement like that.
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Rancorrye
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Re: Finally!

Post by Rancorrye »

Thanks, Brian. I have been having a difficult time finding them lately, but that may be because of the areas I look, like you were saying. I used to find them regularly in Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, Summit and Utah Counties. Haven't spent a whole lot of time searching for them in many other areas.
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Bryan Hamilton
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Re: Finally!

Post by Bryan Hamilton »

N. leopards are really scarce in Nevada. The USFWS was really close to listing the western populations as threatened. They have definitely suffered major declines for the reasons Brian mentioned.
ThomWild
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Re: Finally!

Post by ThomWild »

I know in Sevier Co. leopards had been declining in numbers where they were historically very common in large part due to the success of brown trout in the streams and springs in the area. However there has recently been a stronger push to restore the streams to native trout fisheries. In one of these streams they wiped out all of the brown trout over the last couple of years and there has been a huge increase in the survival rate of young frogs and they are beginning to see them more commonly farther downstream than they recently have been. They are hoping that with the reintroduction of species like the bonneville cutthroat the natural evolutionary advantages will have a stronger effect on restoring leopard frogs to their historic range and numbers. Only time will tell I guess.

All of that said, leopards were never in danger of disappearing completely from these areas they were just much more restricted with lower recruitment numbers.

Nice shots Rye.

-Thomas
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