Local man makes living hunting frogs for 15 years in Turkey’s northwest

EDİRNE – Anadolu Agency

A local man in the northwestern province of Edirne has for 15 years tried to make a living by hunting and selling frogs.

Nihat Savaş Uzunlardan, 53, known as “Frogger Savaş” among his friends, said he has hunted frogs for sale in order to help raise his three children and treat his sick wife.  

Uzunlardan is one of 50 frog hunters in Turkey registered to the Frog and Snail Gatherers Solidarity and Fraternal Association. 

He said he was continuing the work of his father, adding that he generally preferred to go hunting at dawn in the winter and at night in the summer. During his hunts he wears boots and carries a lantern, a spade, and a sack for any amphibian finds, which he then sells for consumption.

Uzunlardan said he selects frogs according to their weight and he releases young ones back into nature.
His hunts go on for up to five hours per day, and he sells one kilogram of frogs for around 10 Turkish Liras. On a good day, Uzunlardan can catch up to 40 kilograms in a day.  

“We collect the frogs in both summer and winter. In summer the prices are lower because the frog population is higher,” he told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency. 

“Winter is tough because we tend to get sick when we enter cold ponds,” he added. 

Frog legs are among the better-known delicacies of French and Chinese cuisine. They are often said to taste like chicken because of their mild flavor, with a texture similar to chicken wings.