SATURDAY, JULY 06, 2024
Adv Suraj Malik
Chorla Ghat, on the intersection of the borders of the states of Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, is a home to the enchanting biodiversity. Taking a walk on the Ghat, at night, offers a meditating experience. One has to listen to the monsoonal orchestra of the wild.
A large number of frogs present in the forest, sing varying musical notes. Every species of frog has a distinct call.
“Tak tak tak…krock krock” is a conspicuous call which occurs just within a week of a heavy rainfall in the forested region. It is a call of one beautiful frog that is the Malabar Gliding Frog (Rhacophorus malabaricus). This frog has a special place in the hearts of nature lovers. Tourists from across the globe come to Goa to witness this frog.
The frogs have always fascinated mankind since time immemorial. During the Shigmo festival, villagers sing to the beats, “Bebki mhani re Aapun karbharin Panyacho purvaat karin re khelya” which means that ‘A frog is saying it is an owner of the water, and that it takes care of it and provides enough water to others.” This shows how our ancestors have seen themselves as a part of nature and understood the role of natural entities. The frogs are an indicator of the presence of water sources.
Malabar Gliding Frog is one of the rare species of frogs that is found only in the Western Ghats of India. As the name suggests, it is known for its graceful glides. Although it jumps like any other frog species, it mostly prefers to take a glide as long as 10 meters to reach the other branch of the tree. The light weighted body with their legs supported with the webs, helps them manoeuvre through the air. With these distinct characters, it resides in the trees throughout the day, therefore it is called arboreal species.
During the daytime, it takes a good sleep on the leaves. While it sleeps, it compress up its body and stays still, settling on the leaves. At such times, it becomes very difficult to track them as they are completely camouflaged. However, as the night falls, and the clock ticks 8 pm - 9 pm, these frogs become very active and start moving downwards, where there is a water pond beneath the tree. The ponds formed by heavy rain support the life cycle of this frog. The male and female frog together build a nest on the tree by releasing the foam. It then lays the eggs inside this 'foam nest'. The tadpoles hatched inside the nest directly jump into the water pool for further development. Thus, unlike other frogs, these species of frogs require favourable conditions for breeding.
There are always a huge number of male frogs and very few female frogs in a group. It is thrilling to watch the number of male frogs running behind the female frog, trying to appeal to it for mating. At this time, the green coloured male and female frogs can be distinguished by looking at their size. The female is always much larger than the male. Its ventral side is yellowish white while the red colored webbed toes add more beauty to it. A lot of frogs gather on the tree and at the pond which is full of activity.
While they take a glide, fight with other frogs, give continuous calls, make foam nests etc., they also have to save themselves from the deadly predator, the Malabar pit viper. It is present in the vicinity of the Malabar gliding frog habitat. It is an ambush predator, which means it waits for the prey to come nearby and then it takes the chance to attack and eat such prey. The Malabar pit viper is responsible for maintaining the population of Malabar gliding frogs.
The frogs are a crucial part of the ecosystem. The tadpoles of frogs are developed inside the water bodies. They are responsible for keeping a control on the breeding of mosquitoes in ponds and prevent insect-borne diseases. The Malabar gliding frogs are endemic to the Western Ghats. However, when their natural habitat is disturbed and degraded, they are sometimes found adapted in the areas, lying in the vicinity. In Poriem of Sattari, the Malabar gliding frogs are seen since more than a decade, taken refuge in a neglected water tanks inside cashew plantations that are situated very close to the road. Every year, these frogs have been found adapted themselves and converted the tank into their breeding site.
Environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar, ecologist Dr Madhav Gadgil, and botanist D Janarthanam, visited Poriem and they were surprised to see the Malabar Gliding Frogs taking shelter in a tank. Saleli village of Sattari, nestled at the foothill of Western Ghats, faced serious repercussions of the stone crushers which were operational earlier. This extensive anthropogenic pressure might have forced the frogs to migrate to a manmade tank.
The frogs are well camouflaged with the leaves of the cashew trees that are near the water tank and one can enjoy their natural cycle, well in progress during the monsoon rainy night.
(Adv Suraj Malik is currently practicing in the District and Sessions court in Goa. As a member of Vivekanand Environment Awareness Brigade, Keri, he delivers lectures in schools to build a strong environmental consciousness among the students)
