Coleman Frog


The Coleman Frog is a taxidermy frog on display at the Fredericton Region Museum in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada since 1959. It was previously owned by a man named Fred Coleman, who ran a nearby lodge in the 1880s.

Description

The frog was captured from Killarney Lake, at which time it weighed. Supposedly, the immense size of the frog was caused by the fact that Coleman fed it whiskey, baked beans, june bugs, buttermilk toddies and whey. It is said that the Giant frog used to tow canoes and race against tomcat. It died in a "dynamite accident" and was sent to Bangor, Maine to be stuffed.

Controversy

Skeptics say that the frog is a fake that was used to promote a cough syrup that would "relieve the frog in your throat". The Canadian Conservation Institute in a 1988 report, refers to the artifact as consisting of canvas, wax, and paint. In a letter it refers the exhibit as “an amusing example of a colossal fake and deception”. The museum will not allow DNA testing to be performed on the frog, to confirm if it is real or a fake.