'SEXUAL CANNIBALISM:' Female frog observed trying to eat mate after breeding

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There are some female frogs that pretend to be dead to escape unwanted attention from aroused males.

Then there are females that are perfectly fine to mate — but then consume their male counterparts once the breeding act is completed.

John Gould shared his findings in a new study published in the Journal of Ecology and Evolution, titled Meal or mate: Exploring the evidence of sexual cannibalism among amphibians.

He was observing green and golden bell frogs on Kooragang Island in Australia, where he witnessed the surprising act, SWNS reported.

Gould, an ecologist from the University of Newcastle in Australia and the lead author of the study, was observing the species where their population remains strong, though its numbers have significantly declined overall due to the amphibian chytrid fungus.

He managed to capture photographic and video evidence of a female green and golden bell frog attempting to eat her male suitor.

Gould detailed to SWNS that the female grabbed the male’s leg and held on tight while drawing the amphibian deeper into her mouth and the pond nearby.

The restrained male frog lets out a high-pitched squeal in video footage shared by the outlet before it escapes from the female’s clutches and hops to freedom.

Gould noted that he also observed female green and golden bell frogs consuming other frog species, including marsh frogs, according to the outlet. The university said that Gould’s observations have motivated other ecologists to closer examine this cannibalistic behaviour.

“The circumstances of the attempted cannibalism — with an adult female frog targeting an adult male suitor — has prompted Dr. Gould to explore a new theory that female frogs may have a choice in exploiting potential male suitors for breeding or food and that the male’s call may determine his fate,” the school said.

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Other “active forms of cannibalism” that widely occur among amphibians are mainly “tadpoles that feed on each other and adults that feed on juveniles,” according to the study.

Cannibalism among amphibian adults is less often reported, but when adult-adult cannibalism does take place, the researches hypothesized, females “exploit” males to “differentiate suitable partners from potential prey.”

That makes male frogs “vulnerable to sexual cannibalism, as they must risk attracting and physically exposing themselves to females in order to reproduce.”