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Quick answer
If you know of a nearby garden pond it's ok to move spawn in
these situations.
Further
information
Frogs may return to places where ponds used to be and, in
desperation, spawn on the ground or in an unsuitable
place. Often, frogs choose to lay spawn in small water
bodies including puddles and garden tubs. This strategy can be
beneficial for frogs - such 'ponds' often lack predators meaning
the chances of tadpole survival could be higher. But it's only
successful if the tadpoles can develop and leave the 'pond'
before it dries up so often the strategy fails and tadpoles are
left without enough water to survive. To a degree this is a
natural phenomenon, typical of amphibians around the world.
However, you may want to 'rescue' such tadpole populations,
either by regularly visiting the pond and topping it up (which
may not be feasible) or by moving the spawn/tadpoles to
another pond.
If you choose to do this we advise introducing tadpoles to a
pond as near as possible, ideally to a garden pond within one
mile. Moving tadpoles or spawn around is not normally
recommended
as you can accidentally transfer wildlife diseases or invasive
plants, so for this reason we do not recommend that you release
tadpoles into the wild or in public water bodies (such as
rivers, canals, parks or streams). In these cases it's ok to
relocate the spawn/tadpoles as temporary ponds are less likely
to contain these things.
You may decide to raise these tadpoles in a tank at home or
school, or think about creating a pond yourself. The froglets
that the tadpoles develop into should be released into a
suitable habitat near to where they were found. The only worry
with this is that it encourages these froglets to return to the
area (where there is no pond) to breed themselves in the future,
perpetuating the problem.
Raising tadpoles in captivity.
Just Add Water
- creating a wildlife pond. |