The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
The Un- toad Story
Frogs are important bio- indicators, their presence or absence signal the state of the environment Because they need to jump, the thigh muscles of frogs comprise 17 per cent of their body weight
FROGS AND toads have got to be the original smileys. Their smiles may be cheesy and even supercilious but when they combine this with their jumps ( some can leap 6.5 feet) they can make anyone chuckle with delight! Maybe that’s because many babies also froggy- hop on their bottoms before they become toddlers.
And every child ( or adult) ought to be fascinated by how tadpoles seemingly eat their own tails while developing into adult frogs. Frogs taught us the breaststroke and we seem to have copied their webbed hind leg design for our swimming flippers. Their service to humankind however has got to be in pest control: a single frog can dispense with 100 malaria- dengue- infected mosquitoes in one night. Not to mention, tadpoles devouring mosquito larvae. They are important bio- indicators; their presence or absence signal the state of the environment. In return, we blind them with bright lights, stun them, and hack their legs off and throw them back into
the water so some of us can enjoy ‘ jumping chicken’ in restaurants. Goa was infamous for this until the trade in frog legs was banned and frogs attained a position in Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act ( 1972). But the use of pesticides and herbicides ( and a nasty virus) has decimated their population and caused malformed development in many species. Some 3.2 billion frog legs are still consumed globally every year.
They are pretty unique amphibians; all 7600+ species of them, comprising some 88 per cent of amphibian species. In India, we’ve only counted about 380 species ( 250 from the Western Ghats alone), which means too few scientists are looking out for them.
They can jump and hop of course, swim, climb trees, burrow deep underground, hibernate, aestivate, breathe through their skin and even glide. They can freeze and defrost and go into torpor and come alive again. Their skin is usually moist and slippery — to prevent dehydration and help escape predators. They wriggle out of their skin periodically and eat it — nothing must be wasted. The skin may also be highly toxic as is that of the Amazon’s famous poison dart frogs. The warts and wrinkles on a toad’s skin are chiefly for camouflage. Frogs croak — either solo or in chorus — especially to woo the ladies and concerts can be heard from 1.6 km away.
In India, the best time to look out for frogs is the monsoon. From camouflage patterned olive- green and browns, they turn a bright school bus yellow and inflate cobalt blue cheek pouches, which serve as croak amplifiers. One monsoon, about 200 of them had congregated in a rain- filled ditch on the Northern Ridge in Delhi and were engaged in an orgycum- brawl. The ladies seemed to be in short supply, so the brawlers desperately tried to get on ( and stick on) to their backs while kicking away rivals like stallions. The clasped couple ( the gentleman has a sticky chest and tummy to glue him onto her) would somersault headfirst into the water as the lady released her eggs wrapped up in what seemed to be the frog equivalent of bubble wrap; spawn. Fertilisation takes place externally.
Frogs and tadpoles are usually carnivorous: the Indian bullfrog may enjoy insects, small mammals and birds, and tadpoles are known to feast on one another. On one occasion at the Sultanpur National Park, we came across a battalion of bullfrogs hopping in and out of the open carcass of a nilgai. They were frenziedly snapping up the bluebottles that were feeding and laying their eggs on the carcass. .
Because they need to jump, their powerful thunder thigh muscles comprise 17 per cent of their body weight, most of which are tuned for the leap and much fewer for reloading after the leap. The Indian skipper can leap right out of the water, where it might have been squatting. Most of a tadpole’s tail tissue is used for developing the frog’s limbs. Frogs are short- sighted, ( but usually have lovely eyes and binocular vision) and can hear both above and beneath the water’s surface. Their sticky tongues flicker out snaring the blur they see passing by or an insect perched on a stalk.
They get eaten majorly too — by mammals, reptiles, fish and birds ( which are brave enough!) and of course, ourselves. Yet, with their romantic croaks and comical grins frogs ( and toads) will continue to enchant us for all times to come.