- What's going on, guys.
Okay. So in the saga of the blue frog,
which I know many of you have seen that episode.
I am back on middle bass Island.
Now I'm completely unprepared. No camera team, no nothing,
but I came out and just for the heck of it,
decided to see if I could find the blue frog.
I did not find the one you guys saw on the previous trip.
But I found this frog,
which also looks like it may
be some sort of genetic abnormality.
It has crazy blue coloration and lighter green speckling.
What we're going to do,
is hold onto the frog until daylight
so we can get a better look at it.
(loud laughing)
This is awesome.
(upbeat music)
In the summer of 2020.
I came upon a site.
I never expected to see.
Dude, that is a blue frog.
Look at that frog,
- Where?
- Right there.
- Oh my gosh.
We got to catch this guys.
- I can't believe what I'm looking at.
This is insane.
For three days,
Mario and I pursued this frog,
day and night.
We attempted to catch and share this beautiful blue beauty
with the coyote pack.
Get this super spring loaded creature,
out smarted, out maneuvered
and outplayed me like no frog
I had ever been witnessed to.
Coyote Peterson was truly defeated,
by a blue frog.
- I can't believe that just happened.
- I returned to the scene of my defeat several times
in the following weeks.
But the blue frog was nowhere to be found.
The Phantom of middle pass had disappeared.
And the legend, was born.
Then on a random trip, back to the Island,
without any expectation of seeing this legendary frog.
And with no proper camera team,
a new blue was spotted.
And I totally redeemed myself.
Okay guys.
So here's what's happened.
Last night.
I was out investigating the same swamp where I'd seen
a bull frog once before,
a blue bull frog.
You may remember an episode from a few weeks ago called,
blue frog must see it to believe it.
Well, I didn't anticipate seeing that frog again,
considering I'd scouted.
One other time.
I was back last night and lo and behold,
I found a different blue frog.
No, this is not the same blue frog,
that evaded capture last time.
This is another example of a frog that has gone through
a color mutation.
I've thought so much.
Why is this frog blue?
It's how did this frog become blue?
It is blue because it has a color mutation known
as a xanthism.
Think of it like this.
If you're mixing colors together,
blue and yellow make green.
The base layer of bull frogs is actually blue.
But this frog lacks a yellow pigmentation in its skin.
If the base is blue and the second layer is yellow,
when those mixed together,
that is why we perceive frogs is being green.
This frog has a lack of that yellow pigmentation,
which is what makes it appear to be sapphire.
Or color abnormality,
like this can be rather frequent in nature.
And it happens quite often in different amphibian species,
not only of frogs, but also in salamanders.
Although scientists predict that finding a blue bull frog,
is about one in thirty thousand frogs.
So I definitely consider this quite the anomaly
and a pretty incredible find.
The reason that I'm guessing that there is genetic mutation
happening here on middle bass Island,
is because
this is a very isolated population of bull frogs.
There are very few predators other than herons
and snapping turtles in this environment.
Which is allowing these frogs
to just continuously reproduce.
There are hundreds of thousands,
if not millions of bull frogs living in this marsh.
So after a while,
it's not unlikely that there's going to be some sort
of mutation that happens where you have
a color variation like this.
I think we all remember the sapphire crayfish,
and I think it would be,
a rather fitting to call
this the sapphire bull frog.
But just so we're clear,
this is not a new species.
It is a true bull frog.
It just has a color mutation.
And the more this frog is out in the sun,
warming itself up to the day,
the brighter that blue color is going to get.
When this amphibian is cold or it's hunkered down,
they have the ability to shift the chromatophore,
in their skin.
Which of course can help keep them more camouflaged.
Now, the problem,
a blue frog like this faces
is that it cannot camouflage properly.
I'm actually really pleased to see that the frog has grown
to this size to begin with.
A lot of animals that do not have
the proper coloration for their environment.
End up being easily predated upon by other predators.
And the way that I caught this frog,
which actually happened off camera.
Is I did shine it with a flashlight,
but it wasn't in the water.
It was actually up on land.
I used the long extendible net,
got the net over top of the frog,
I was able to quickly pounce on top of it
and get it scooped up.
What I want to do now is give you guys
an up close comparison between the blue bull frog
and a normal green bull frog.
These are the exact same species,
about the same size,
but you'll notice how different looking the blue mutation
is from the green one.
Let's start with the eyes.
The eyes of the green bull frog are bright amber
and coloration surrounding that black pupil.
But the blue bull frogs eyes are almost completely
black and brown.
That again has to do with the lack of yellow pigmentation
in this frog's body.
When it comes to camouflage.
There's no question about it.
The green frog is gonna to blend in much better within
a swamp or marshal environment with Lily pads and duckweed.
The blue bull frog,
especially when you turn it sideways like this,
you can see is so much more likely to stand out amongst
a green environment.
My theory on that as to why I wasn't able to catch
the blue bull frog last time,
is that more agile and more in tune with
any movements within the environment,
the second they feel the water shifting
or a difference between light and shadows.
They immediately think,
Oh no,
I'm no longer hidden.
Something's getting close.
It may eat me.
I better spring off into action,
and find myself a better hiding spot.
(frog croaking)
I wonder if they're talking.
Saying to themselves,
what are we doing right now?
Are we being filmed or have ducted by aliens.
Are we about to be famous on YouTube?
(frog croaking)
Without question,
this blue bull frog is probably going to be
the most famous frog we have ever filmed.
(frog croaking)
Well, it's taken me several trips back
to middle bass Island,
but I was finally able to find
and successfully catch,
the one and only blue bull frog.
I'm Coyote Peterson.
Be brave.
stay wild.
We'll see on the next adventure.
Alright. Time to get these two hoppers
back off into the swamp.
(dramatic music)
A quick search of the internet will reveal that,
several blue frogs have shown up in 2020.
Including specimen cited in Texas, Indiana,
Louisiana,
Iowa,
and of course,
Ohio.
Some say these frogs are one in a million,
which is probably pretty accurate,
considering the number of tadpoles
that hatch out and grow into frogs every season.
Yeah, while it is rarely witnessed due
to the elusive nature of most amphibians,
a xanthism is relatively widespread
than salamander in frog populations,
that have a limited gene pool.
Like frogs isolated to an Island.
For me,
the summer of 2020 will always carry with it,
the memory of the blue frog.
And if you ever get the chance to visit middle bass Island,
and find yourself walking along the marsh,
who knows,
maybe you too will be lucky enough to catch a glimpse,
of the sapphire bull frog.
Hey, coyote pack.
If you're new to the legend of my boy blue,
make sure to go back
and watch as I tried to catch the uncatchable frog.
I promise,
it's the most entertaining example of a man versus frog,
that has ever been captured on camera.
There's nothing more frustrating,
than literally having,
the frog you've been trying to catch for three days,
in your net.
And then have it spring out,
just as I was trying to get my hand in there,
to keep him locked in position.
Uh,
Don't got him yet,
we're gonna to keep trying.
And don't forget,
subscribe,
enjoy memberships.
So you can officially become one of the pack.
(upbeat music)