What Eats Tadpoles?

Although many realize that tadpoles are eaten by larger creatures, some do not realize that we have reasons to thank what eats tadpoles. When a female amphibian is pregnant, she lays hundreds of eggs at a time. Once all of those eggs hatch, hundreds of tadpoles appear. If some of them were not eaten by other creatures, these amphibians would start taking over the world!

Some may think it is sad that only two or three of the hundreds of tadpoles wind up surviving into adulthood. However, it is important to remember that the process of eating tadpoles is a vital part of the food chain. Once food chains are broken, various problems can arise.

Fish

Tadpoles' close proximity to the water certainly does not aid in their survival abilities. While some fish are too small to eat tadpoles, many are not and tadpoles are one of their favorite treats. Carp, koi, and catfish will eat anything that they can find, including tadpoles. In fact, many people who own backyard ponds purchase koi for the sole purpose of keeping frog populations in control.

The bass, trout, and catfish species do not just stop at the baby frogs. Larger varieties of these three fish will also consume adult frogs. Although walleyes would rather eat small fish, they will also go in hunt of tadpoles if their preferred meal is scarce.

Water Creatures

Fish are not the only danger lurking in the water for tadpoles. Water snakes would love to ingest as many tadpoles as possible in one sitting. Young snapping turtles are another frequent diner. While adult alligators and crocodiles devour adult frogs, the babies go after tadpoles.

Tadpoles are not even safe from their own kind. Adult frogs eat the babies, and larger tadpoles will go after smaller ones for meals.

Other Creatures

Predators come from elsewhere as well. Birds, particularly the blue heron, like to swoop down and scoop tadpoles up out of the water. Another animal that people may not suspect to be on this list is the raccoon, at least in North America. Since raccoons are nocturnal creatures, they have great opportunities to sneak up in the dark on an unsuspecting tadpole population.

Bottom of the Food Chain

Tadpoles occupy the undesirable position of being at the bottom of the food chain, which explains why the list of what eats tadpoles includes species from the land, air, and sea. The baby frogs have no legs or tongues in the beginning of life; therefore, they are basically completely defenseless against the elements.

The odds of a tadpole ever becoming a full frog are extremely poor because they do not only have to worry about all of the species that will eat adult frogs, but they have their very own set of predators as well.