By Jean
Since we’ve moved into our new house, we’ve been having the adventure of a lifetime exploring the reserve and pond nearby. We were just sitting around the pond, observing the unique and wonderful behaviour of a tūī sitting on a harakeke plant nearby, when my brother and I spotted two eyes watching us from the top of a lily pad on the pond. At first glance, it looked like it was a lily pad overlapping the one underneath, but as we got closer to get a better view, we realised it was a small frog. As if to clarify it, the frog gently blew up its throat and we heard a faint ‘clicking’ sound. After some research, we realise that it was an introduced New Zealand frog species called the green and golden bell frog (Litoria Aurea). As hinted by its name, the green and golden bell frog has a radiant colouration of green with golden or bronze patterns.
I’m an eleven year old boy who has a growing passion for conservation and nature. My interests are around marine biology and zoology, and I love interacting and learning about animals.
