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4.6.98
eight.a
The sounds and sights of sex
Spring brings frog melodies, blatant flirting by humans
LISTEN
story by graham k. johnson ● gjohnson@kansan.com
All you want to know
—and more — about
the Calls of Kansas
Frogs and Toads tape.
- Contains mating calls of all 22 frogs and toads native to Kansas.
- Includes one side of calls with narration and one side of continuous series of free choruses
Can be purchased from Kansas Heritage Photography, 840 SW 917 St., Wakaraus, Kan. 65465 for $14.95 + $3.00 for shipping, handling and state tax.
A free copy will given to volunteers for K. A. M. P. Interested individuals should contact Joe Collins at 864-4920.
Ahh! Spring is in the air. The birds are doing it. The bees do it doing it. President Clinton is accused of doing it all the time. But the frogs, they do it first and they do it loudly.
Let's talk about sex, baby, frog sex. The advent of spring is often first signaled the choruses of male frogs and toads trumpeting their annual mating calls. These choruses fill the night air surrounding ponds and shallow waters.
But local wetlands are not the only sources of amorous amphibian music. One can just pop Calls of Kansas Frogs and Toads into the tape deck and be soothed by the soft-sounding serenades of thousands of cold, slimy prince charmings.
The tape was produced, under the sponsorship of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, by Keith Coleman, Topea graduate student in philosophy. It was narrated by Joseph T. Collins, herpetologist and former director of the Natural History Museum. The tape is at once scientific, educational and recreational.
"Basically this tape is a bunch sex songs," Collins said. Collins said that frogs were the first creatures to come out of winter hibernation, usually in late February to mid-March. Long before the first flower blooms, male frogs sound the coming of spring with their
"The males are calling the females to the pond," Collins said. "And whether it is because the males are loud or because it's pretty, they always manage to hook up."
The first side of the tape, which can be purchased from Kansas Heritage Photography, is a series of informative narrations about the 22 species of frog songs along with samples of each.
The other side is a continuous set of choruses that Collins said were a great source of relief for those with cabin fever, himself included.
"They lift my spirit," Collins said. "I know that spring is here and that the weather is going improve. It's a cheerful aspect of life, and we hope it brings cheer to the people who listen."
Keith Coleman, who did all of the recordings and writing for the tape, said he could see why people might use it to calm their nerves.
"It's a very soothing sound," Coleman said. "It can help you relax."
Coleman said his motivation for making the tape was personal. Nature noises are his hobby, and he said the project grew out of that hobby when Collins asked him to put a tape together.
it took a long time. Coleman began making recordings in the early 1980s and finished production in 1993.
"Some of these animals are really hard to get," he said. Collins said that while the tape served both educational and recreational purposes, the most important function was scientific.
The tape was financed by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment as a part of the Kansas Amphibian Monitoring Program. The program is attempting to count and catalog all the amphibians in Kansas, Collins, who is directing the effort, said that volunteers were needed to go out on predetermined routes and estimate the numbers of different kinds of frogs.
The tape was made to help volunteers learn the different calls Collins said.
But Collins' interest in frogs is not merely scientific. He really digs frogs.
"I like frogs because of the way they get together in the sit and sit around sinking about sex." Collins said.
Frogs aren't the only animals increasingly interested in sex as spring rolls around. Humans are too, said Dennis Dailev, professor of social welfare.
"Obviously, the way people dress, or more likely, undress when spring comes can be a sign of sexual interest," Dailey said.
Daley said that it was important to understand that although there were similarities between human and animal sexual patterns, the causes were fundamentally different.
"I don't know if there is a equivalent in the human species to the mating acts of lower animals," Dailey said. Human sexual activity is determined predominantly by
cultural and environmental factors. Animals are driven completely by instincts and biological forces, Dailey said.
However, there is some significance to the notion of humans being biologically "in heat," particularly males.
"There is some suggestive evidence that the levels of male testosterone increases in the heat of the spring or summer." Dailey said.
Still, Dailey said he thought most human behavior was motivated by social reasons. For example, Dailey said, the cultural image of spring being the "season of sex" can be motivation enough.
Daily also said that the Kansas climate could hinder people sex just as much as frog sex.
"When it's cold and people are moving through snow storms with all of their clothes on, sex is less apparent," Dailey said. "When spring comes the clothes come off and that is more conducive to sexual interest."
Dress is just one way humans express interest in sexual activity.
"What you have in humans is an enormous variation in ways of signaling sexual interest," Dalley said.
Ted Melivennay, director of the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality graduate school in San Fran-
cisco, agreed. He added that, in addition to dress, perfume and makeup are also common ways that people enhance their sexual attractiveness. Others ranged from accumulating wealth and power to using gimmicks.
"I once asked Geraldo's wife what about him attracted her," McIlvennay said. "She said, 'His American Express Card.'"
Mcilvennay said he once interviewed a man who used a gimmick lure 30 women into bed with him. The man took tennis balls to the laundromat and washed them. He waited for women to become curious about his ballwashing and strike up a conversation with him.
Can you hear the love? The sound of male frogs serenading females is one of the telltale sounds of spring. Humans use more subtle techniques like changing their clothing style as the season changes. Illustration by Andy Ross / KANSAN
He then used charm and good looks to entice many of the women to a nearby hotel, Melivennay said.
Dailey said of all the ways people attracted members of the opposite sex, he found flirting to be the most interesting.
"The whole flirting thing is a safe way of expressing interest in another person, although it can be sometimes very confusing." Dalev said.
While mating in the spring may come naturally for the frogs, humans must wade through complex rituals and many failures. But there is hope.
"Behind every frog is a prince," Collins said.
JUSTICE IS A MONTHLY RESPONDING TO THE PUNISHMENT OF TERRORIST ATTACKS.
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KU RECREATION SERVICES
INTRAMURAL SPORTS ANNOUNCEMENTS!
Wrestling Tournament:
Whiffleball Tournament:
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For more information, please call 864-3546 or stop by the Office of Recreation Services in 208 Robinson.
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Cost $5
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Cheerleading Clinic: Fri., April 17 @ 6:00pm Tryouts: Sat.,April 18 @ 9:00a.m.- 5:00p.m. All activities at Anschutz Sports Pavilion (west of Allen Field house)
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