TEXAS: A man in Texas claims to have hunted a giant frog dubbed ‘Frogzilla’ and it’s totally baffling the internet.
In the photo the smiling hunter is seen holding the massive creature, which reportedly weighs 13 pounds or 5kg, in one hand and a rifle in the other.
The South Texas Hunting Association shared the images on its Facebook page last week.
Markcuz Rangel shared the photo with the website, stating that it was caught in a pond on a ranch near Batesville, Texas.
Nearly a quarter of a million people have shared the image since it was posted on May 25.
But there have been accusations the photos are fake, particularly due to the long hair the ‘creature’ appears to have.
Commenting on the image post, Cheryl Stewart-Williams wrote: “My first thought, ‘oh wow it has dreadlocks. It’s fake.”
While Ron Baia added: “My chihuahua weighs 12 lbs and is not even a 1/3 that size! BS.”
But one wildlife expert thinks the photo is real and more of ‘an optical illusion’.
Steve Lightfoot, of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, confirmed that the photo is real, but reassured the public that wild frogs are not taking over South Texas.
“It’s more of an optical illusion created by extending frog toward the camera, similar to what you see with fishermen holding up fish to make them appear larger,” Steve says.
