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Jerdon’s Bullfrog
| Photo Credit: Yuvan Aves
You can hear them, but you cannot see them. Frogs, with their throaty ribbits, trrrts, and whirrs, can now be heard in all their glory, thanks to the rains. Madras Naturalists’ Society presents an opportunity for people in the city to document these creatures of the night over the next two months, to put together the Frog Atlas for Greater Chennai. MNS has put out a Google form, through which people can report their observations from their locality.
“Frogs are an important species; they are bio-indicators of hydrological health and habitat quality,” says Vijay Kumar, hon. Secretary of MNS, adding that there is no proper data on the number of frog species in Chennai. The citizen science project will help them kickstart a study into what the presence or absence of these creatures mean to the city. “We plan to go into the field ourselves to verify these observations,” Vijay explains.
Being very sensitive, with permeable skin and what not, the presence of frogs in a waterbody near you could mean that the water is pristine. Also, their absence may indicate that something is not right. The exercise, feels Vijay, is sure to open up all our senses: “It will help one emotionally connect with what is around us; we can include children too as they are automatically tuned to Nature.”
Vijay says that a friend’s house in Santhome has been inundated due to the rains, and that he hears a frog orchestra every night. “I told him he has at least something to be happy about — that he is surrounded by clean water,” he laughs.
For details, visit their Instagram page @madrasnaturalists
Frog watching tips
Dusk, especially after the rains stop, is the best time
They can be seen and heard at non-polluted freshwater bodies such as agriculture fields, ponds, lakes, and inland marshlands
The calls are primarily for mating, and frogs prefer quiet spots since they can be heard well
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