Who are these predators? It seams as if just about everybody. Frog eggs, tadpoles, and aquatic adults are favorite meals for fish around the world. Predatory aquatic insects prey heavily on the tadpoles. Frogs that live near or in the water are often hunted by wading birds, such as herons, by a host of snake species, by many small to medium sized mammals, such as raccoons, opossums, and skunks, and by other, larger frogs.

In the tropics, additional dangers come from unexpected sources; there are bats that specialize in hunting frogs, which they locate by the call. Tropical frogs may be caught in webs and eaten by spiders. One tropical hawk extracts frogs from their hiding spots in the leaves.

Frogs have a variety of techniques to make it through the day and night. Firstly, they avoid detection. Many frogs have cryptic coloration that makes it difficult for others to see them. The north American Gray tree frog has a mottled gray pattern that quite strikingly matches the lichen encrusted branches and tree trunks that are its usual home. Aquatic frogs are usually green or brown to mimic the dominate colors of water and plants. A few species even have bony protruding structures that disrupt their smooth outline and make it difficult to detect them as frogs rather than pieces of earth or plant.

Detection alone does not mean capture. If a predator succeeds in locating the frog, it still has to catch it. The frog has two choices; it may run away or stand its ground. Species that run away have powerful legs. Some make a single leap into nearby water. Others make a series of jumps and then freeze. This tricks the predator, the predator will often continue scanning for the next jumps.

Tree frogs usually have a pattern of bright coloration on a portion of their thighs that is not visible when they are at rest. So when they leap the color is visible, but when they land and assume rest position, they are concealed. This confuses the predator, as he will often search the spot where the color was seen. Some frogs, are poisonous, and warn the predators of this by their bright coloration. Some frogs are also aggressive, and will bite.