wes_von_papineäu
Our Roving Correspondent
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- Wes von Papineäu
WNCN (Raleigh, N Carolina) 11 February 08 Bullfrog May Be N.C.'s State Amphibian
Raleigh, N.C.: We've all heard it's not easy being green, but who knew it could be downright unpopular? In the race for North Carolina state amphibian, both the marbled salamander and Cope's gray tree frog have taken the wind from the bullfrog's sails.
It all started early in 2007, when an elementary school class submitted to state legislators as their class project the idea that NC needs a state amphibian. Who better for that status, the children argued, than the largest and most commonly found frog in the state -- the bullfrog?
A year later, amphibian aficionados are still duking it out.
The bullfrog, whose scientific name is Rana catesbeiana, inhabits permanent bodies of water such as ponds and lakes. The male bullfrog's familiar "jug-o'-rum" call fills the air on spring and summer nights. In winter, it hibernates in the mud.
What makes the bullfrog unpopular with scientists as a state symbol is the fact that it tends to breed prolifically, consuming and crowding out other species. Not only that, but also three other states have chosen the bullfrog as their state amphibian.
North Carolina, by the way, has an impressive 30 species of frogs and 60 species of salamanders, giving us plenty of choices. The North Carolina Herpetological Society, headquartered at the NC State Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, put on its website a polling place for citizens to help decide the matter.
Thus far, a whopping 50 percent have voted for the marbled salamander and 34 percent for the gray tree frog. And in case you are wondering, amphibians are not the only proposed state symbol to inspire controversy.
That's why we have both an official state blue berry, the blueberry, and an official state red berry, the strawberry. (You had to stop and think a minute, didn't you?)
http://www.nbc17.com/midatlantic/ncn/news.apx.-content-articles-NCN-2008-02-11-0016.html
Paperboy Note: And for those of you that call the state of North Carolina home (and I think about 2,251 caudata.org members have that unique and honourable distinction), you can vote for your favourite amphibian at http://www.ncherps.org/state_amphib_poll.shtml.
Raleigh, N.C.: We've all heard it's not easy being green, but who knew it could be downright unpopular? In the race for North Carolina state amphibian, both the marbled salamander and Cope's gray tree frog have taken the wind from the bullfrog's sails.
It all started early in 2007, when an elementary school class submitted to state legislators as their class project the idea that NC needs a state amphibian. Who better for that status, the children argued, than the largest and most commonly found frog in the state -- the bullfrog?
A year later, amphibian aficionados are still duking it out.
The bullfrog, whose scientific name is Rana catesbeiana, inhabits permanent bodies of water such as ponds and lakes. The male bullfrog's familiar "jug-o'-rum" call fills the air on spring and summer nights. In winter, it hibernates in the mud.
What makes the bullfrog unpopular with scientists as a state symbol is the fact that it tends to breed prolifically, consuming and crowding out other species. Not only that, but also three other states have chosen the bullfrog as their state amphibian.
North Carolina, by the way, has an impressive 30 species of frogs and 60 species of salamanders, giving us plenty of choices. The North Carolina Herpetological Society, headquartered at the NC State Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, put on its website a polling place for citizens to help decide the matter.
Thus far, a whopping 50 percent have voted for the marbled salamander and 34 percent for the gray tree frog. And in case you are wondering, amphibians are not the only proposed state symbol to inspire controversy.
That's why we have both an official state blue berry, the blueberry, and an official state red berry, the strawberry. (You had to stop and think a minute, didn't you?)
http://www.nbc17.com/midatlantic/ncn/news.apx.-content-articles-NCN-2008-02-11-0016.html
Paperboy Note: And for those of you that call the state of North Carolina home (and I think about 2,251 caudata.org members have that unique and honourable distinction), you can vote for your favourite amphibian at http://www.ncherps.org/state_amphib_poll.shtml.
