What Eats Frogs? Discover 16 Frog Predators

Lizards eat frogs on land close to water bodies. Chameleons, bearded dragons, and iguanas often ambush frogs as well. A lizard uses its sweeping tongue to grab an unsuspecting prey straight into its mouth and bite hard to neutralize it before swallowing it whole. Lizards often target young frogs as adults can be difficult to kill.

Certain fish eat frogs, with a common example being bass. Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass are expert frog hunters who eat them regularly. Other big fish in a river also eat small frogs when they can get them.

A frog is both a predator and prey. While certain bigger animals eat frogs, frogs eat smaller animals to create a food chain cycle. Snakes, hawks, bass, and owls all eat frogs, while frogs eat crickets, small fish, slugs, and grasshoppers.

While Herons are generally known for eating frogs, they are not the only bird that eats frogs. American bittern, red-tailed hawk, owls, and collared kingfisher are all birds that specialize in eating frogs on land and sometimes close to river brinks.

Bears can eat frogs, but that is only on rare occasions. Bears will never spend their time trying to hunt frogs and only eat them by chance. The bigger animal will often ignore frogs and go for bigger, more satisfying prey.

Alligators ambush frogs at ponds and river brinks when the unsuspecting amphibian stray too close to their mouth. Alligators will often pounce in a swift moment and swallow the frog. However, alligators barely hunt frogs by chasing them.

Adult eagles barely spend their time trying to hunt frogs. They prefer other catches compared to frogs which can be sneaky. Small to medium eagles, however, pounce on frogs occasionally when hunting for other preferred food.

Raccoons eat frogs and other amphibians like toads. This animal is known to hunt and eat frogs regularly, making the amphibians an important part of their diet. Frogs provide raccoons with protein and other essential nutrients.

Jaguars will chase and eat frogs if hungry and find it difficult to get their preferred meal. Frogs are no match for jaguars and can be easily subdued by one if there is no hole it can easily slip into.

Crows hunt and eat small frogs. Powerful birds with a crushing clutch, crows are known to pick up frogs in a single sweep and kill them before chewing them. Frogs are one of the many foods that crows eat.

Most monkeys do not eat frogs because they are herbivorous. However, bigger monkeys like the capuchin monkey do eat frogs occasionally. The bottom line is that the majority of monkeys do not eat frogs or meat.

Turtles occasionally eat frogs in both water and land. Turtles majorly target smaller frogs that are easy to subdue and will avoid the bigger ones because of the risk of getting injured.

Ducks eat frogs. Ducks typically hunt and eat tadpoles and small frogs because of their moth nature. They do not have teeth that are very effective for chewing, so the frog needs to be small enough for better maneuvering. This is why ducks will only eat younger frogs.

Owls eat frogs and hunt them on land. Their flight advantage makes it easy for them to quickly steal a frog from the ground or tree before the amphibian can react. Owls need frogs for important nutrients and hunt frogs quite regularly. They normally do not eat frogs in a sitting and will store the surplus for future feeding sessions.

Skunks are strong land mammals that eat frogs. Experts in hunting small animals, skunks have perfected tailing frogs and killing them before eating them. However, they only hunt frogs when preferred food sources are not available.

Sloths cannot eat frogs because they are herbivores. They do not eat meat or any flesh and prefer vegetation and fruits.

Pythons, at different stages of their life, eat frogs. Pythons, like most snakes, are tenacious frog hunters, following the amphibians into holes and uprooting them to eat them. Leopard frogs and North American bullfrogs are common frogs that pythons eat.