The American Bullfrog a common food source

The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus ) , often simply known as the bull- frog in Canada and the United States, is a large true frog native to eastern North America. It typically inhabits large permanent water bodies such as swamps, ponds, and lakes. Bullfrogs can also be found in man-made habitats such as pools, koi ponds, canals, ditches and culverts. The bullfrog gets its name from the sound the male makes during the breeding season, which sounds similar to a bull bellowing. The bullfrog is large and is commonly eaten throughout its range, especially in the southern United States where they are plentiful.

Their presence as a food source has led to bullfrogs being distributed around the world outside of their native range. Bullfrogs have been introduced into the Western United States, South America, Western Europe, China, Japan, and southeast Asia. In these places they are invasive species due to their voracious appetite and the large number of eggs they produce, having a negative effect on native amphibians and other fauna. Bullfrogs are very skittish which makes capture difficult and so they often become established.

Other than for food, bullfrogs are also used for dissection in science classes. Albino bullfrogs are sometimes kept as pets, and bullfrog tadpoles are often sold at pond or fish stores.

When I was a young boy living in the country there were no air conditioners and during the summer it was pretty hot in the house so we would sit on the back porch where it was a little cooler. We had a creek running through our pasture so night we would hear the bull frogs bellowing. You tell by the sound of their bellowing whether it was an older or younger frog.

When you would walk by the water in the creek, you could see the bullfrogs jumping into the water. When they got out of the water they would usually sit on the same spot they did before they jumped into the water. I would take a long cane pole with a hook and a worm hanging from it and creep up to where it was sitting and swung the hook in front of the frog until it would snap on it and I had me a bullfrog. Most of the time it would work and I caught many a frog that way and it made for some good eating.