Groll Frog History!
Groll frogs have survived quite a few of the planet's catastrophes, so they've been around for as long as anyone can remember. These creatures have adapted to all the different ecosystems on Shantyland. In fact, it usually only takes a generation or two to conquer an environmental obstacle that comes their way. The natives of Shantyland have depicted this species for as long as their history dates back, and the frogs have provided many uses to them in turn. Grolls have offered up a source of food, medicine, entertainment (via some very odd games and traditions), and now they have made their way into homes as prized pets!
Groll frogs began their history as symbols of good luck to the amphibious lifeforms that make up a bulk of Shantyland's inhabitants. A sign of safety and used to alert the budding villages to danger or severe weather, but also used for food/medicine/entertainment for people ancient and modern. The first groll eye transplant (RIP Eyeball the medical grade groll) after a nasty blinkblink shroom incident occurred a mere few hundred years ago, in which the infected eye was successfully transplanted with the groll eye.
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In more recent years on Shantyland, owning/breeding groll frogs as pets has skyrocketed as a hobby, particularly for city dwellers. People everywhere have begun breeding them for flashier looks and more extreme appendages (See Infusion) and there are plans for a planet-wide show/competition in the works due to increasing interest in the hobby.
And where a pet trade grows, so does the need for sweet enclosures! You may take one look at the dinky plastic tank above and think, "wait, this is a super common cage from ancient Earth, why would anyone else in the galaxy use these plastic hunk-o-junks for their pets now?" In the spirit of intergalactic hipsters, a herp-hobbyist on Shantyland came across a photo of one of these old enclosures during their studies of Earth's History and instantly set about recreating the gaudy plastic tanks for modern day Shantyland pets... and they became an instant hit! This also turned many hobbyists onto the idea of terrariums/enclosures in general (as the frogs seemed to thrive in these easily controllable environments) and having a decked out tank for your Groll has become a side hobby within a hobby. These tanks aren't usually made for long term residence, however! Give your groll enough space to really stretch it's legs as it grows.
And where a pet trade grows, so does the need for sweet enclosures! You may take one look at the dinky plastic tank above and think, "wait, this is a super common cage from ancient Earth, why would anyone else in the galaxy use these plastic hunk-o-junks for their pets now?" In the spirit of intergalactic hipsters, a herp-hobbyist on Shantyland came across a photo of one of these old enclosures during their studies of Earth's History and instantly set about recreating the gaudy plastic tanks for modern day Shantyland pets... and they became an instant hit! This also turned many hobbyists onto the idea of terrariums/enclosures in general (as the frogs seemed to thrive in these easily controllable environments) and having a decked out tank for your Groll has become a side hobby within a hobby. These tanks aren't usually made for long term residence, however! Give your groll enough space to really stretch it's legs as it grows.
In the Environment:
With relatively quick reproductive life cycles, grolls are always abundant in the wilderness, despite being the primary food source to many of the predatory species on Shantyland. They play a crucial role in the predator/prey balance in the wild, as they consume many of the smaller pests and insects that would plague visiting alien lifeforms (like humans!!), but they also provide an easy meal to many other species. These frogs are found everywhere on shantyland EXCEPT FOR the desert. They evolve quickly to suit their habitat; a Northern Forest groll might be more rugged and less adapted to water, whereas a Salt Flat groll might ONLY be able to function in water. The environment they live in directly effects the abilities and look of the individual.
Freaky fact: Although it may send chills down your spine, grolls are also the most reliable way for a specific type of fungi to complete it's life cycle on Shantyland. The Blinkblink mushroom spits out tiny spores at it's last stage of life, which, with any luck, implant themselves in the eye of any animal passing by, and since groll frogs are basically one big hopping eyeball... They make the perfect target! Unfortunately, this is usually the death of normal sized frogs in the wild, but larger specimens have been known to survive (even with the loss of their one eye) and with medical attention, your pet groll can be spared this gruesome death.
Groll Groups and Other species
Grolls are a surprisingly social species. On the breezy summer nights in the swamps, the chorus of grolls can be heard seemingly worldwide! They tend to group together for safety and comfort, sometimes in numbers as large as in the thousands, as recorded by Ranger Tambik a few years back. They aren't territorial but tend to be very loyal to the group that they deem their family and have been recorded as protecting or aiding an injured member, as well as round the clock care for any grollets born into the group. While they love their froggy families, in the game of predator and prey, grolls absolutely adhere to the "as long as i'm faster than the other guy" rules!!
Grolls get along well with their own kind, but have learned through the generations that not all large animals with sharp pointy teeth are going to eat them! And those without any groll-eating tenancies can make a great free ride through the swamp (boguineas)! In the same way that a groll can bond with it's owner, grolls in the wild have also been known to grow overly fond of the other animals it shares a habitat with. The Jawbone could smash a groll with one flick of its massive jaw, but most aren't interested in snacking on that mess, but a groll frog who sticks close to these aggro reptilians can use them to keep some of their actual predators at bay. Same goes for Cloverdiles, who will occasionally eat grolls, but often times just provide a nice natural umbrella for the frogs to hide under in severe storms.
Be Kind!
They may be creepy or even down right terrifying! But if you come across a little groll on Shantyland, please refrain from stepping on them or blasting them because they're "icky"! As a Shantyland ranger, it's your duty to catch, log, and release specimens while out on patrol so the overall health of the groll population can be monitored. Groll frogs are a great indicator of their ecosystem and can give a lot of insight on the surrounding areas (even the dead ones!). Mutations and unusual traits for wild frogs are usually always removed from the wild if caught, but because of the pet trade boom, more and more hybrid and infusion-bred frogs are mixing with the wild population and skewing the data for natural frogs. It's now even more crucial to continue tracking to see how the species will be effected as time goes on! If you're only visiting Shantyland for a short time, be sure to fill out all the necessary paperwork on exporting your groll off planet! If we've won your heart with this little history lesson on grolls, be sure to check out Shantyland on Patreon to keep the good learning times rolling! |