DAILY NEWS & ANALYSIS (Mumbai, India) 03 July 08 Frogs leap back to life this monsoon (Ashwin Aghor)
Amidst debate about dwindling frog population in the region over the past few years, nature lovers has a reason to celebrate this monsoon. A sudden increase in frog population has been noticed sending positive signals of the amphibian’s propagation.
However, scientists are cautious as far as the spurt in its population is concerned.
“There has been a drastic decline in amphibian population over the years due to various reasons. The sudden increase in population now can not be relied upon completely,” says Varad Giri, scientist with Bombay National History Society (BNHS).
According to naturalist Sunjoy Monga, in the past few years there had been many observations and reports on dwindling frog numbers. “For the first time in years, I have noticed more frogs than for over a decade,” he said.
Pools in the forest had plenty of frogs as did the countryside during the past one week. “Nature can be its own best doctor and it is working in some magical way in the case of frogs,” Monga said. But Giri feels that the sudden increase in population could also mean migration of frogs due to habitat destruction.
According to Giri, who is studying caecilians in Maharashtra says that 58 per cent of amphibian species in India were on verge of extinction while 32 per cent species were threatened to be extinct globally. “Frogs are indicators of climate and they are facing severe threats due to habitat destruction all over the state, especially in the Western Ghats,” Giri said.
There are more than 250 species of amphibians in India, but none of them is properly documented. “Lack of funds is the biggest problem for researchers. Meticulous study about amphibians must be done before arriving at any conclusion,” said Giri.
The study about amphibians began in 2001 and the first report is expected to be released in October this year. “The situation has only worsened since the study began. The observations so far have only confirmed decline in frog population,” said Giri.
Giri feels that in the absence of documentation and scientific study on amphibians, it would be difficult to assess the situation. The irony is although there are only nine frog species in the city, they are not documented properly.
Frogs leap back to life this monsoon