Viral Photos of Caught Giant Frog Believed to be Infamous ‘Frogzilla’
The snapped photo of the giant frog caught by a man in Texas has gone viral.
Both the Internet and wildlife experts are trying to figure out the photo's authenticity of the giant frog, also known as "Frogzilla."
Markcuz Rangel, smiling with a rifle in one hand and a 13-pound massive creature on the other, is seen in the photo. Rangel claims that he bagged and captured it in a pond on a ranch near Batesville.
Even though many claim the image is not real, a wildlife worker says the monster amphibian is 100 percent real.
Well, maybe not as a monster, but more like an optical illusion of a really big frog.
Steve Lightfoot, a spokesman for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said the image is real but doesn't mean it will destroy Tokyo
"It's not as bigly as it appears," Lightfoot told Chron.com.
"[It was 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," said Lightfoot, who still appreciated the enormousness of the amphibian. "Still a big bullfrog, though."
The Internet's craze over the monster frog began once the South Texas Hunting Association shared the photos on its Facebook page, reports Chron.com.
The viral photos also picked up more steam when reports suggested the giant bullfrog was shot and killed with a rifle.
Many were outraged that Rangel did not let the frog live in peace, regardless of its size.