Mountain Chicken Profile
The small Caribbean island of Dominica once had hundreds of thousands of animals commonly known as the mountain chickens, hopping about all over it. But the harvesting of up to 36,000 of these poor meaty parcels per year has seen their numbers crash.
But the mountain chicken is a name akin to “long pork”, in that it’s something that is likely less appetising than it sounds. That’s because it isn’t a chicken at all, but a species of frog.
Mountain Chicken Facts Overview
| Habitat: | Secondary forest or scrub, river valleys, palm groves |
| Location: | Dominica and Montserrat |
| Lifespan: | 12 years |
| Size: | Up to 20 cm (8 in) |
| Weight: | Up to 1 kg (2.2 lb) |
| Colour: | Green to brown, often with dark stripes on the legs and a stripe behind the eye |
| Diet: | Insects, millipedes, spiders and land snails as well as vertebrates |
| Predators: | Humans |
| Top Speed: | Slow |
| No. of Species: | 1 |
| Conservation Status: | Critically Endangered (IUCN) |
Mountain chickens are enormous. On Dominica and Montserrat, they’re top predators and not picky eaters at all.
While voracious with their prey, they make surprisingly good parents, making foam nests to provide for their terrestrial young.
Unfortunately, they’re also apparently very tasty and have been hunted for their meat to the point that they are now critically endangered.
Interesting Mountain Chicken Facts
1. They’re one of the largest frogs in the world
These are no ordinary frogs. Aside from all the following weird facts about them, they are also some of the largest frogs on the planet. They’re members of the Leptodactylidae family of frogs, and the largest members, reaching more than a kilo in weight and 22cm long.
Females are bigger than males, and they’re stout, muscular animals, full of meat.
2. They’re top predators
To get to this size, the giant frog eats a lot. They have a flexible diet as long as it’s animal-based and includes insects, spiders, snails and larger things like snakes, lizards or other frogs.
They’ll eat more or less anything they can fit into their mouths, and they don’t like to work for it, either.
Here is a frog that sits around much of its life, waiting for the food to come to it. and in terms of basic survival, it’s served the animal well – It helps to be opportunistic if you don’t want to actively look for a meal.
Interestingly, this is a species of frog that has not been seen to engage in cannibalism, and mating pairs seem to have no trouble with eating one another.
3. They make foamy nests
Males will find a good breeding location and make whooping noises to point it out to a female. Couples will dig a burrow of around 50 cm deep, and the female will release a special fluid that the male whips up into a foam with his legs.
This takes the best part of a day, after which the male leaves the burrow to stand on guard and the female will deposit up to 25,000 eggs into her new nest.
Of all these thousands of eggs, only 26 to 43 little froglets will emerge a month and a half later. But there’s a good reason for this. 1
4. They’re good parents
Captive examples have shown researchers just how diligent these frogs are with their parenting. Male frogs remain close to the nest and will aggressively defend it from anything that comes close.
The female provides thousands of unfertilised eggs along with her handful of viable ones, because once the few hatch, the rest will become breakfast. All these unfertilised eggs will be fed to the larvae for their development, a strategy known as oophagy, or “egg eating”.
Between them, the mother and father exhibit an unprecedented level of parental care for a frog. 2
5. Their tadpoles are terrestrial
It may already be apparent by now that these are no ordinary frog babies. The mountain chicken, much like the common chicken, lays its eggs on land, and its young are terrestrial.
Their entire development occurs within the foam nest, somewhat like that of the leafhoppers, whose young are found in the familiar “cuckoo spit” on the edge of branches.
The foam provides a humid and protective layer for the young frogs until they’re ready to emerge. 3
6. They taste like chicken
Despite all the foam and wriggling, local people on the islands of Dominica and Montserrat find them incredibly tasty. This is, of course, what led to the nickname “Mountain chicken”, and this is admittedly a lot nicer of a name than the alternative “Giant ditch frog” which is also commonly used.
These frogs supposedly taste like chicken and have been used as a food source by native people and even as an export.
It was the national dish of Dominica until a hunting ban came into place on both islands. Since then the government has changed its official meal to try and discourage hunters and reduce the demand.
Unfortunately, this might prove to be too little, too late.
7. They’re almost extinct
In the 2000s, an infectious disease called chytridiomycosis resulted in a major population drop for this large frog. It was around this time that the hunting bans came into place, but continued poaching, as well as human development and habitat encroachment still threaten the species.
To make matters worse, Monserrat experienced volcanic activity that destroyed further habitats with lava flows, so it’s as if the poor frogs can’t catch a break.
8. Conservation is needed
Conservationists are calling for deeper and more focused research on the species and more captive breeding educational awareness – something which is already in motion.
Disease mitigation efforts could be a significant factor in the success of the species, but as of now, they are considered critically endangered.
Mountain Chicken Fact-File Summary
Scientific Classification
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Leptodactylidae |
| Genus: | Leptodactylus |
| Species: | Leptodactylus Fallax |
Fact Sources & References
- Kaiser, H (1994), “Leptodactylus fallux Miiller
Mountain Chicken”, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. - Richard Gibson (2004), “Maternal Care and Obligatory Oophagy in Leptodactylus fallax: A New Reproductive Mode in Frogs”, Research Gate.
- “Mountain Chicken”, IUCN Red List.