Tadpoles in a Rice Paddy

Farmers in Japan flood their rice fields in early summer. The fields are quickly populated with amagaeru "rain frogs". Frogs are called "kaeru" in Japanese. Tadpoles "otamajakushi" hatch in 60 hours and transform into frogs within 32 days. I was startled to discover the strange sounds being made below the surface of this rice field. I don't know the source of the sound. Flooded rice paddies quickly become home to a diverse range of small animals and insects.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Japan
• Japanese
• Nippon
• Nihon
• frog
• baby
• tadpole
• rice
• paddy
• water
• amagaeru
• otamajakushi
• kaeru
• Tokaido
• Softypapa

[mostawesomestjes]

Fantastic video! I went to Nikko recently and was immediately in love with the openness of the land on the way there. Live in Yokohama leaves me with very little open space and even less sky that isn't polluted by powerlines. I want to visit the inaka sometime and see seas of rice fields! ^_^

[softypapa]

@mostawesomestjes Your trip to Nikko sounds wonderful. I agree that there is something very special about the countryside settings here in Japan. The abundant rainfall and resulting lush, green landscape are an amazing contrast to the tight urban landscape of the cities. Have a great day! ~Kurt :-)

[FeileCase]

~LOL~ HOW VERY COOL! THAT WAS GREAT KURT.

[softypapa]

@FeileCase I'm so glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for watching! Have a great day! ~Kurt :-)

[edtomorrow]

Hey, good idea! My cameras have that ability but I havent thought of anything this creative to dunk them in... Maybe I will plop em in dirty clay water!!! LOL!!! I did put one in a waterfall in one of my Thailand videos... But nothing cool swam by... Oh well... DBAD

[softypapa]

@edtomorrow Your ideas of wet world exploration videos sound like fun! Good luck with your efforts. Have a great day! ~Kurt :-) DBAD

[Strideo1]

I like how the underwater camera can bring us into a whole new world. In this case a little world that exists within a few inches of water in a rice paddy. It brings a new perspective.

[Lee2k8ere]

awww poor guy got slaughtered by the mini wave :(

[GreenTeaGoku]

I seriously like that they are using frogs to keep insects away rather than pesticides.

[123zucky]

WATH OR HELL

[softypapa]

@leloodallasmultipass That's funny! Thanks for sharing and have a great day! ~Kurt :-)

[softypapa]

@marblemill You make a terrific point about farm biodiversity. Thanks for watching and sharing your observation. Have a great day! ~Kurt :-)

[softypapa]

@blackhat2005 There are rice fields everywhere in the community where I live. By the way, I'm sorry I was unable to pick up your Skype call the other day. My Skype rings at work and I can't pick up unless the call is from one of our sister schools in Australia. Have a great day! ~Kurt :-)