Tadpole Apocalypse: Video Shows 100s on Sidewalk

The heavy rains we've had recently in Houston, Texas have been beneficial to local wildlife. Precious, life-giving water sustains all, and for some it's a place to breed and grow to maturity.

Tadpoles shouldn't be on a sidewalk

That includes amphibians such as frogs and toads, of course. Their eggs are laid in water, where they hatch out as tadpoles. There, they spend time eating and metaphorizing into adults. But sometimes, the very water that sustains also kills.

Those heavy rains flood some areas, such as the marshy areas in the grassy corridors underneath major power lines. Excess water overflows onto streets and sidewalks, usually causing no problems for humans. But for some small creatures such as tadpoles, the spillover can bring death by isolation. Stranded on a sidewalk, like the ones shown in my video here, are separated from their food supply and left baking on hot pavement with barely enough water to cover them. Frog legs that will never be.

Nature giveth, and Nature taketh away. Frog legs that will never be.