So yesterday I got back from a little camping trip and was walking
past Thorson Hall at St Olaf’s when I happened to peek into the window
well on the side of the building. The well is about five feet deep and
big enough to crouch in. I thought, “Hmm. One time I found
yellow-spotted salamander in a window well. Maybe there are some in
here, too.” I was encouraged in this prospect by a rustling sound in
the debris down there. So I lifted off the heavy iron grate that kept
large animals out, and eased myself in, being careful only to step on
the dirt. The floor of the well was covered in decaying leaves,
plastic bags, and aluminum and plastic containers in various stages of
decay. There was also a large, fungus-covered stuffed bear lying prone
with its legs sprawled which was apparently abandoned years ago.
As I crouched down to investigate whatever creatures were moving in
the debris, I found they were not salamanders at all but rather
another amphibian, the wood frog! There were lots of them jumping
about to escape as I lifted up leaves and pop cans to get a closer
look. I thought, “Hmm. I should liberate these frogs from this window
well. They obviously can’t climb the five-foot concrete wall to get
out.”
So, I caught one frog after another and let them go on the moist grass
above. Some were adults and some were small juveniles. I’m not sure if
wood frogs need water to reproduce but judging from the range of body
sizes I’m inclined to say that the window well denizens were a
self-sustaining colony. Luckily, when released they only had a 20 ft
expanse of grass to cross before reaching the woods beyond. I’m not
sure how far the nearest pond is, though…
After releasing about ten of the little amphibians, it occurred to me:
maybe I was doing them wrong. There were plenty of nutritious bugs in
the window well. It was very moist down there and there were even
several overturned plastic containers with standing water for the
frogs to drink from and in which to make sweet frog love. And like I
said, raccoons and squirrels and crows probably could not get to them
there. Did I do them wrong by “letting them go?”
Then again, I did see two or three dead frogs in there. Maybe they had
become infected with bacteria in the dank environment or been eaten by
bugs from which they could not escape. And what kind of life is that
for a frog? Don’t they want to see new ponds and find new mates?
Then again, maybe I’m overthinking this.
pseudoisaac 