Cape frog a squeaking star

Cape Town - This may be what it sounds like when a frog has a frog in its throat. Actually, it is the defensive cry of what's being billed as the "world's cutest frog".

A 30-second YouTube video shot in the Northern Cape of the “world’s cutest frog”, and its unusual squeak, has had over 3 million hits since it was uploaded just over a week ago – catapulting the creature and its photographer into the limelight internationally.

People commenting on line at todaysthv.com are saying that the frog sounds like it swallowed a squeaky toy. And we all know who loves squeaky toys.

When Dean posted the video he asked others to share their pets' reactions. There was some head butting and a lot of head cocking.

There were attempts to get at the frog and searches to try and figure out where that weird squeak was coming from. One smart dog even pawed, bit and snatched a smart phone playing the frog video.

Durban photographer and reptile breeder Dean Boshoff, 27, photographed the tiny desert rain frog last month while on a camping trip in the Northern Cape.

Boshoff said he found the frog, endemic to a coastal strip of land about 10km wide in Namibia and South Africa, while walking in the sand dunes. It is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.

IOL reports the small, plump species is easily recognisable by its bulging eyes, short snout, short limbs and, of course, its unusual squeak.

The video shows the puffed-up frog in defence mode, emitting a high-pitched squeak, which was what first caught Boshoff’s attention.

“When I got back to Durban, I loaded the pictures on to a local reptile site and received a good response,” he said.

Boshoff decided to upload the video last Wednesday, anticipating a maximum of 50 views.