Frog by a Foot

While hiking in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, we decided to stop and enjoy the view. Joy and Sam came over to ask me if that strange noise was a frog. I was not hearing any strange noise, but I was hearing plenty of Green Frogs, so I said, "sure." Then I heard what they were talking about. It was the most pitiful frog croak ever. Suddenly, there were shouted exclamations that there was a snake in the grass. I came over and found a Garter Snake in the sedges along the marsh. At that point, we realized what the odd sound was. The Garter Snake had the Green Frog by the foot. You can see the snake still hanging on to the frog's foot in the bottom picture. I judged that the snake had no chance of actually swallowing it's meal, and picked him up, releasing the frog. What a forlorn, piteous cry the frog had been making! We let the snake go after getting his picture. I wonder how long both of them would have stayed deadlocked in that position. Surely both were sitting ducks for predators.