Man who caught giant bullfrog says picture is no hoax

BATESVILLE, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — A monstrous bullfrog is creating a buzz on Facebook.

A picture of a 13-pound bull frog captured by its hunter was posted by South Texas Hunting Association on Thursday.

The post has been shared more than 109,500 times.

The picture is making people question whether or not it's the real deal. KFOX14 reached out to Markcuz Rangel via Facebook and he said the big catch is no hoax.

"The photo is real and I've got others from the same area, just not as big but still big bullfrogs," Rangel responded. He sent KFOX14 pictures of those other bullfrogs.

Steve Lightfoot, with Texas Parks and Wildlife, says the photo is an optical illusion because he held it toward the camera.

Lightfoot said bullfrogs are no bigger than a pound. He said on record the largest has been an African cane toad that weighed 7 pounds.

Rangel said he didn't think his picture would go viral and regrets not taking more pictures and video of the bullfrog to prove it is real. He sent KFOX14 pictures of a giant bullfrog being held by a coyote snare.

"We weren't planning to post it anywhere other than a regular Facebook post and Snapchat. If I would have known it would go this far, I would have taken more pics and video with my regular camera and not through Snapchat where they're deleted after 24 hours if not saved," Rangel said.

Rangel said the picture was taken with the bullfrog slightly away from the body but not 3 to 4 feet away as Lightfoot suggests.

The amphibian was caught in Batesville, Texas, which is about 526 miles east of El Paso.