What does a horny frog do?


Foremost authority on frog watching reveals in his new book 'The Peeping Frogs of Nuwara Eliya'


Frogs cannot be fun. They are slimy, ugly creatures with bulging eyes and sticky tongues. Plus they fornicate externally. Heck, it takes all the fun out of sex! But Naturalist at Jetwing St. Andrew’s Ishanda Senevirathna would beg to differ, not the part about external fertilization, but about frogs being boring, slimy and ugly creatures. The foremost authority on frog watching, yes there is such a thing, recently released a book titled 'The Peeping Frogs of Nuwara Eliya'. In this up close and personal account Senevirathna draws attention to a frog's life cycle, the difference between frogs and toads, frog language, breeding habits, threats and most importantly frog watching.


It was inaudible at first but one gradually became aware of the multitude of throaty croaks that made for the frog call music of the evening. True to the book's title, the auditorium of Jetwing Colombo 7, where the book was launched, was adorned with cardboard frogs peeping from leaves. Against this backdrop, Ishanda Senevirathna launched his maiden book, a photographic guide to frog-watching. The first copies of 'The Peeping Frogs of Nuwara Eliya' were presented by Ishanda Senevirathna to Jetwing Group Chairman, Hiran Cooray and Senevirathna senior.


A panel discussion on the importance of sustainable tourism and ethical wildlife experiences ensued, with the participation of experts in the wildlife field such as Professor Emeritus Sarath Kotagama; herpétologist, Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi; environmental lawyer, Jagath Gunawardardan; Jetwing Group Chairman, Hiran Cooray and Jetwing Travels Managing Director, Shiromal Cooray.


According to the author, the main purpose of the book is to raise awareness about the necessity of protecting frogs and ensuring that frog species are conserved before they are rendered extinct and to promote frog watching as a unique tourism activity.


Indicator species


“They are masters of camouflage, of hopping and diving and they can scale almost any surface. They come in all shapes, sizes and colours,” said Senevirathna. These agile creatures are nature’s acrobats and can jump up to 20 times their body length. Their sticky tongues are the secret to their bug catching prowess. Not to be mistaken with toads, frogs have wet, smooth skins. Their bulgy eyes provide 180-degree vision, which especially comes in handy at night when light is low. These cold-blooded amphibians have a backbone, a feature some mammals and even certain Homo sapien lack. 


There is nothing quite like hearing about frogs from a frog lover. So what does a horny frog do? They fertilise their eggs externally. “The female lays the eggs and the male fertilises them by releasing his sperm onto them,” explained Senevirathna, in a nonchalant tone.


But more importantly, frogs are an indicator species. They are environmental indicators due to the sensitivity of their semi-permeable skin, to pollution and other environmental changes. “Consequently, the environmental health of their habitat can be accessed by monitoring the frog population.”


Frog diversity


There are 119 species of amphibians in Sri Lanka, 103 of these species are endemic to Sri Lanka. Of the seven frog species found in Nuwara Eliya six are endemic to Sri Lanka. The artificial wetland of Jetwing St. Andrew’s is a sanctuary for rare, endemic and endangered wildlife. Among its inhabitants, today are 33 plant species, 35 species of birds, four endemic reptiles and 12 butterfly species. Senevirathna has recorded seven species of frogs over the years in the artificial wetland, five of which are endemic and three are critically endangered. All these frog species are endemic to Sri Lanka. “All these frog species, found above 1,600 metres, are geographically restricted to the Sri Lankan montane forests,” said Senevirathna, reiterating the importance of protecting this niche habitat.


Among the seven recorded, four are easily spotted on the daily excursions conducted by him for guests of the hotel. At 7.00 pm Senevirathna gets up close and personal with the frogs, armed with flashlights, so as not to disturb them. God forbid he and his troop of frog watching tourists could walk in on external fertilization activity. According to Senevirathna, evening, when they are most active, is the best time of day to spot these elusive creatures. Once a frog is spotted flashlights are switched off to observe the frogs up close with the use of red light.


Hiran Cooray admitted that they didn't set up the artificial wetland at Jetwing St. Andrew's in 2002 with business intentions. “It was purely out of love for nature.” But the wetland has now transformed the field of ecotourism with the frog watching tour being frequently booked by guests and by schools. Cooray praised the efforts made by Senevirathna to explore completely new areas of wildlife experiences. “Over the years, our naturalists have completely transformed wildlife excursions for our guests. Gone are the days of the standard visit to national parks, as we see our guests changing their preferences to more intimate, personal, and rare experiences such as this.”


Threats


Senevirathna explained that among the biggest threats to these amphibians are agro-chemicals, used in abundance in Nuwara Eliya, a frog hotspot. Conversion of wetlands for agricultural purposes is a major reason for the loss of frog habitat. Roadkill and water pollution are other threats that have contributed to putting these creatures on the endangered list. 


Prof Kotagama opined that if agrochemicals are to be done away with, farmers have to abandon monoculture. “Monoculture is not the ideal frog habitat either, they prefer diversity,” emphasised Prof Kotagama. In fact, home gardens like the ones promoted by Jetwing St. Andrew’s in their frog-friendly gardening competition in Nuwara Eliya is a case in point. The competition was initiated to raise awareness about frogs and to encourage a shift from agrochemical based agriculture to organic farming. The winner of the competition, Chameera Dinadh, was also felicitated at the event.


“As a sustainable effort at ecotourism we hope to extend our frog watching activities to these gardens as well, in the near future,” said Senevirathna. Prof Kotagama suggested that a network of such home gardens could lead to St. Andrew’s. “Which in a sense is not just hotel based tourism, but community-based ecotourism,” said Prof Kotagama. He pointed out that there is a lot of potential for this venture, as not only species conservation can go in line with it, but habitat conservation and livelihood development as well.


Frog watching


Senevirathna believes that frog watching is an ideal way to raise awareness about frogs and what threatens them. Tourism in Sri Lanka has boomed in the recent past and ecotourism is one of the fastest growing market segments. To top this off, Sri Lanka is recognized as one of the global amphibian hotspot. “Frog watching as an ecotourism activity has huge potential in Sri Lanka,” said Senevirathna. Costa Rica's success in offering frog watching as an ecotourism activity is a case in point. In fact, although it may seem like a novel concept, frog watching is offered as a tourist activity in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Costa Rica, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Tasmania, Lithuania, Peru, Ecuador, Madagascar, South Africa, India and Brazil.


So where are we in the global frog scene? Herpétologist and frog researcher, Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi informed that Sri Lanka is a frog hotspot. “According to estimates, there are 140 species of frogs, toads and Caecilians in Sri Lanka, 95 percent of which are endemic.” Manamendra-Arachchi believes that there are 30 odd new species yet to be described.


Environmental lawyer, Jagath Gunawardardana pointed out that since National Parks don't allow nighttime visitations, a more frog-friendly, controlled observation method is commendable.“Keeping the frogs in an undisturbed environment is the first consideration,” said Gunawardardana, pointing out that frog watchers and home garden owners have to be equally considerate in this regard. He pointed out that ethical standards have deteriorated in other areas of tourism and Jetwing, as pioneers in frog watching tourism, should take precedence in setting high standards so others can follow. And remember frog watching is just that, 'watching'. They are not to be manhandled or adopted as pets.


Originally published in The Island

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