Cockroaches may be considered a pest by some, but they’re a tasty meal for the frogs at Maria Whitley’s Richmond home and families are welcome to watch the feast.
Cockroaches held in front of one of her frogs are quickly snapped up and she is on the hunt for more to feed her amphibian pets which has prompted her to seek brave bug catchers via Facebook.
While the cockroach had no choice about being photographed, the frogs demurred and sought refuge in the bottom of the pond – one of two ponds Maria has on her property for frogs.
The rumbling croaks of frogs have reverberated around her garden at night for the past three decades, ever since her kids were little and brought home tadpoles to watch grow into frogs.
“With the kids we were selling tadpoles, and the kids grew up and left home and mum continued doing her frog thing. They’re my kind of zen. I sit with them and there’s that interconnectedness of all things.”
The yoga teacher admits her frog friends are not particularly sociable, but apart from their calming effect, she says they are also an environmental indicator of her garden which is planted to the brim with flowering plants and blooms, sold at the gate.
Her frogs are the southern bell frog, one of three introduced frogs species in New Zealand and more likely to be seen than the very rare native species. She has also had the green and gold bell frog in the past, but the southern croakers that are also called the growling grass frog and warty swamp frog are the ones that have stayed around.
“I’m sticking with the southern bells because they stick with me. If you give them the right environment, they stick around. One of them does go out on walks and comes back – he’s quite adventurous.”
She has a couple of frogs in a pond inside her small plastic house and more in a covered outdoor pond.
To keep them around, she feeds them well and cockroaches just happen to be one of their favourite meals. She is on Facebook for anyone who wants to catch a feed of cockroaches to deliver to her frogs.
