Aura of Anura

Fresh smell from the first rain

Laugh of the child splashing the water

Fresh color of the newly grown saplings

The land that was lifeless few months back

Is giggling with a sign of relief

“O rain o rain

The life was drain

With your tipper-tap on earth

I am again freed from the pain”.

 

What comes to your mind when you think of rain, I asked a herpetologist. Keeping silent for a few seconds his face brighten up with a huge smile and he asked me have you seen a frog? That shocked me for a while and I said who has never seen a frog? Yes I have seen many of them. He laughed and asked, then tell me what they look like...“Sticky”, “slimy”, “weird” , I said. And to this while correcting his sitting posture into a serious discussion, he said then you have never seen them. This point I knew that either I am going to be a part of laugh in his next lecture or I am going to get some serious talk. He asked me what you think of rain and I instantly replied a hot cup of tea with a beautiful view J a weather of cuddle. He smiled at me said that’s the most common answer I get though. But the Nature lover inside me always think of frogs when it rains and you know why?, He said because that is the most important season for that fragile animal to survive. It’s very easy to hate that slimy animal but very hard to understand their importance. It’s not like a fly that is just a nuisance in our lovable monsoon. Frogs do seem like a non- important noisy creature, but hardly have we known that the noise is nothing but their “love song”.  Frogs comes under class Amphibia, sharing this class with Caecilians, Salamander and Newts and hence can be known as amphibians.

As to the date we have over 5000 species of frogs on our mighty earth and most importantly this 5000 species are known or has already been discovered by our scientist, however there are still many frog species that are yet waiting to be discovered. Now come to think of it when we already have this many species why to bother about their population? So in this beautiful Journey I will share few details which will tell us about the beauty of frogs and why to worry about them.

Amphibians are small animals that need some special cases for their better survival, like moist environment (if it’s hot, cells going to die Mate) and water and hence rains comes into the play. Amphibians also show a unique behavior, they need both land and water for their survival. Frogs are not just the simply rusty looking animal, they also come into various colors with different behavior.

 

Here are few Fun Facts for the frog lovers:

 

Þ     A cold-blooded invertebrate (no back bone) live partly in water and partly on land.

Þ     Some frogs are also called Toads and taught that they are different but there’s not much difference in them except Toads have much more rough and dry skin, and a gland of poison for their protection known as Parotid Gland. 

Þ     Male frogs croak as loud as they can to reach out the female close by (a note to love). Female choose the best vocalist and then they have super MATING HUG (Amplexus) where female releases egg and male release sperms.

Þ     A female frog release aprox. 5000 eggs at once, but sadly as it’s the survival of the fittest almost around 2% of them hatch successfully.

Þ     For releasing egg water is needed, so that small fish like tadpoles can swim. 1^st step of life starts with water..

Þ     Within 3 to 25 days (depending on the species) egg hatches into small tadpoles (pollywogs) with gills and tail.

Þ     In some cases Male becomes the guardian of the eggs by keeping them on their back, belly or in mouth – Safe location tough!!

Þ     Frogs go under metamorphosis which says that you need to transform before taking 2^nd step of your life that starts with land.  Tadpoles become frog lets after losing their tail and gills, and develop limbs (legs). Jumping jags are ready.

Þ     The colony of frog is known as Army, young frogs swimming together form school…well hello fishies.

Þ     Frogs can live upto 30 years, and in captivity can live upto 20 years.

Þ     Golden Poison Frog (Phyllobates teribilis) is the most poisonous frog in the world yet one beautiful frog – Beauty comes with beast!!

Þ     Goliath Bullfrog is the largest frog (32cm in length) in the world weighing 3.25Kg, whereas Donahue (Paedophryne amauensis) is the smallest (7.7mm) frog in the world.

 

Why frog conservation is needed??

 

We never really noticed but frogs do a lot of work in silence.

Frogs love to eat insects they eat what bug us. They control insect population in their locality.

Frogs are the important part of food chain as well, water birds, kingfishers feed happily on them.

Well not just birds even in many parts of world frogs are considered to be a healthy diet.

Frogs are very important biological Indicator. A happy frog shows that all is good and a no frog shows that there’s a lot going in your neighbourhood.

Slimy layer on frogs are now being used for various medical purpose.

I hope this is enough for one to save them at any cost.

Threats

 

I came from the land

Where trees were home

Where leaves were shades

Where logs were bench

And water pool was ocean.

Now here I am

I see buildings but no home

And the leaves are gone

Benches are burned

And water is very hard to find.

Frogs are now facing threats as much as we are evolving ourselves. The invasive species we introduce on the name of exotic beauty is killing the homey ones. Pollution, population, climate change and habitat loss are one of the major threats they face. With every single rising year for humans we are losing precious species of animals.

According to studies amphibian are the first to die when there’s slight changes in their habitat, a main reason for over half of frog species to be in Danger or extinct.

 

What You Can Do

 I am not saying that if you see a frog pick them up and thank them for all of their efforts they put to protect our habitat. But never miss an opportunity to save them if you can. A single effort can make a big change. A small place in your garden can also do a lot. Just by making a small water pool into a shady area can really make a lot of difference. And just because you are letting them swim they will take care of pest in your garden…a friendly and no cost effort.  Learn to appreciate the beauty you already have in your habitat instead of bringing exotic beauties from outside.

Admire the jungle and enjoy serene beauty of wetlands home of wild frogs.

Save water and that will not only save just frogs but a lot.

Just a smiley Face from frog to make your day is enough.

Save frog who knows he might be your prince :) !!