The idea that frogs spend all their lives croaking in ponds or sitting on lily pads is best left to fairy tales.  Despite what most people like to believe, frogs actually spend most of their adult lives on dry land.

The only times you'll find adult frogs in water is when they're spawning, or on really hot days when they want to cool off (and they usually do the latter by staying in the shade during daylight).  It's true that they prefer moist conditions, but they don't dessicate as soon as they leave water.

Having finished spawning, May is the time when adult frogs leave the water and resume their lives on terra firma.  Many well meaning people finding these amphibians wandering around cannot understand why they are on dry land.  Very often they pick them up and deposit them in the nearest pond (much to the disgust of the frogs).

If you find a frog on dry land it's almost certainly there by choice, and so unless it's in danger of being squashed it's best to leave it be.

Related Pages

• UK Safari Frogs Fact File
• How to Tell the Difference between a Frog and a Toad
• UK Safari Amphibian Section
• UK Safari News