Mansi Patel, Bell Oaks Upper Elementary School
Camden County
First Place, Camden County, Cope's Grey Treefrog (c) Mansi Patel
Cope’s Grey Tree Frog
Rribit! Rribit! Well, hello there! My name is Connie and I am the Cope’s Grey Tree Frog. Scientists have a special name for us and that is Hyla chrysoscelis. You may think that I am an ordinary tree frog, but really we are an endangered species in New Jersey. You have to do everything you can to help us stay alive. Now let’s go and see how you can save me!
Before we learn how to save us, here are some facts about me. My species’ speaks for itself. My skin is mottled grayish green or solid green to a gray or creamy white color. On my hind legs you will see bright yellow or orange. This color startles or confuses predators. A Cope’s Gray Tree Frog eats flying insects such as flies and mosquitoes. We also eat mites, grasshoppers, beetles, snails, butterflies and larvae. Yum! We frogs rest during the day and forage at night. We tree frogs live in habitats of all elevations of wooded areas near temporary and permanent waters in such diverse surroundings as swamps, ponds, lakes, old fields, thickly-wooded suburban neighborhoods, farm wood lots and mixed or deciduous forests. Our predators are skunks, Virginia opossums, raccoons and snakes. Yikes! These predators vary depending on where we live. My mom breeds in May when the females move to breeding ponds. My mom lays clusters up to 30 eggs. The eggs are attached to vegetation or near the surface of the water. The tadpoles transform within 2 months. The adults reach maturity, with the length of 3.2 cm. to 6 cm. within 2 years.
Aack! To help us stay alive, you need to stop pollution and stop moving our habitats. We tree frogs are currently on a steady decline. People pollute our area and move our homes so we have no place to go. People also litter in our ponds and lakes too. By all this litter and pollution, we die. When you take our homes away, we have no place to live. Make sure you keep an eye out on where you throw your trash.
To save our species, you can stop polluting our area. Make sure you don’t let any gasoline come into our ponds. When you throw out your trash, never drop it by the lakes and swamps. When we see something bright like a ShopRite bag, we may think its food, so we eat it and choke on it. The best thing to do to ensure the survival of the tree frog species is to monitor our populations and protect our habitats.
As you can see, you need to protect us so we don’t become extinct. You have to do your part and help save our species. Remember to spread the word to your friends, family and your long lost relatives.
Thank you for caring. Gotta go! Rribit! Rribit!
Written by: Mansi Patel
Bell Oaks Upper Elementary School, Bellmawr
Teacher: Ms. Adele Conner