The eggs of Eastern Japanese Common Toad, laid at the end of February each year, hatch in early April and grow into frogs in an astonishingly short time of just one month. This is a record of the growth of these Eastern Japanese Common Toad.

　
Left: Eastern Japanese Common Toad tadpoles swimming in the pond at the animal park (photographed April 10, 2015)
Right: A pair of Indian Spot-billed Duck ducks who love the pond in the animal park.
In late February, when it was still quite cold, Eastern Japanese Common Toad eggs were laid in the pond at Inokashira Park Zoo 's "Animal Plaza" (news). The many tadpoles that hatched in early April were a big hit with children. However, for Indian Spot-billed Duck, which were in the middle of their breeding season, the tadpoles became easy prey. So, outside of our activity hours at the Animal Plaza, we continued to cover the pond with nets to prevent the tadpoles from being eaten by Indian Spot-billed Duck.

　
Left: The entire pond is covered with netting to protect the tadpoles from predators.
Right: A newly emerged Eastern Japanese Common Toad is about the size of a fingertip (photographed on May 3, 2015).
Protected by the net and watched over by the staff, the tadpoles grew rapidly, and by the end of April, we could see tadpoles with hands and feet. It was finally time for them to leave the pond and come ashore. And on May 3rd, during an activity at the animal park, we saw a small but magnificent toad on the edge of the pond that had successfully made it ashore.

When Eastern Japanese Common Toad come ashore, they hide in bushes or under rocks near the pond, growing rapidly until they become frogs the size of a palm. Only a few frogs survive to that stage, but we hope that in a few years they will lay eggs in the pond again and show us the growth of tadpoles.

[Masumi Abe, Education and Outreach Inokashira Park Zoo]

(June 12, 2015)