Getting bitten, stung, scratched and slimed defined my childhood experience of nature. However, taking risks that would terrify me now fuelled a lifelong interest in the living world. Each season would herald its own delights, but stumbling upon a spring pond frothing with frogspawn was always a highlight.
What never struck me until I grew up is just how tough life in a pond could be, especially for a tadpole. In early spring, female frogs and toads rely on sheer numbers as a survival mechanism, laying up to 5,000 eggs. It's no wonder the ancient Egyptians used the image of a tadpole in their hieroglyphic system to represent the number 100,000 – colossal numbers of tadpoles would have swamped the Nile.
The spawn of frogs and toads can quite easily be told…
You're reading a preview of
The Simple Things (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2024