A Venezuelan radio station reported not long ago that bullfrogs here had consumed a calf. Erroneous, of course, the report was nevertheless revealing: it reflected the outsized concern being stirred by the recent arrival and spread of bullfrogs here. Native to the northeastern United States, the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) has spread across much of the continental U.S. and established itself in several Latin American countries including Chile, Brazil and Colombia. But not until recently did it appear in Venezuela, in an Andean border region near Colombia. Bullfrogs are prodigious eaters. They already have consumed or displaced smaller native frogs that had inhabited the ponds they’ve colonized here, and they threaten to expand into new territory—including South America’s largest lake, Maracaibo. To make matters worse... [Log in to read more]