DRAFT* Gelvers, a Danger to Mankind and Gelverkind Alike

There is an old poem that mothers have used to warn their children of a creature that has plagued the kingdom as long as can be remembered.
  If you should come across a swamp / Or to a marsh your feet should stomp
  Take ten steps back then run away / For in those waters, so they say
  The gelvers lurk, with bulging eyes / With warts, webbed feet, and gurgling cries
  They'll snatch you up, like frogs with flies / As they leap through the air
  Beware my daughter, listen well / Take care my son, no magic spell
  Can save you once you're in its hold / It won't be swayed by jewels and gold
  Take heed my children, for if you hear / A cry that fills your heart with fear
  It means that gelvers have drawn near / Beware my child, beware!
  Gelvers are amphibious creatures vaguely resembling toads. Ranging from the size of small children to large dogs.
  The offspring of these anuran creatures hatch from clutches of soft eggs layed in bodies of freshwater. When the eggs hatch, the baby gelvers (also known as gelvlings) resemble a bulbous overgrown tadpole, weighing about 3 pounds.  The early hatchers immediately begin devouring their own eggs and then move on to the unhatched eggs of their unfortunate siblings. Hatching does not remove the risk of being cannibalized however. As any gelver, regardless of development, will not hesitate to devour any siblins smaller than them, and in some cases the same size. Those that survive continue to feed on any creature they can, growing, sprouting legs, and beginning to hunt prey on land.
  Gelvers have been a natural predator of humans as long as they've been around. They have the intelligence to use rocks and sharp sticks as makeshift weapons and with their powerful legs can easily leap above a person's head, covering ground rapidly. The main deterrent to mankind's demise from these creatures are themselves.
  Cannibalistic in nature, gelvers will not hesitate to devour one another, whether it be an adult eating eggs and young or a common gelver, swallowing their smaller cousins. That being said, they are still a very dangerous threat and should be hunted and culled during cold dry months when they hibernate.