Tadpoles in Winter?

Pond Ice Hole

I noticed this break in the ice the other day while walking my trail.  I decided to walk out on the bridge to see if I could discover the reason for it.  The temperature was right at freezing and had not changed over night.  I decided there must be a source of heat under the water.

When I looked down, I saw movement.  It looked like tadpoles and they were as large as I have seen.  I called my grandsons and their dad brought them over to see.

Bullfrog Tadpole

The tadpole could barely turn around in my thin aquarium.  It had small hind legs.

Bullfrog Tadpole

I am starting to think that tadpoles do not always mature to frogs in one season under water.  I think that I would expect this one to become a frog this season.

Bullfrog Tadpole

The boys thought these the largest tadpoles they have seen.

Bullfrog Tadpole

I looked at Wikipedia and saw a picture of the bullfrog tadpole which gave certainty to my identification.  Even the smaller ones without legs looked to be the same kind.

I was telling the boy's grandmother about this later and she said that she had kept bullfrog tadpoles in her classroom for a season.  A parent bought them in.  She also brought pond water saying that they don't tolerate tap water well.

Could this be a sign that spring is just around the corner?

Back to the ice-less water, I wondered if the congregation of all the tadpoles might be making the the heat which melted the ice.  There were dozens of them down there!

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