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Cookies are used for the following reasons: We do not use cookies to collect any personal information or sensitive information.Ĭookies on natureinfocus.in are used by our third-party vendors and us. Our site uses “cookies” to enhance visitor experience and improve the speed of the site. The fate of the Purple Frog appears to be inextricably linked with the reliability of one of the most unpredictable phenomena on the planet, the monsoon rains. In the years that the team has diligently followed the breeding of the Purple Frog, there have been instances where a majority of the eggs were destroyed and washed away by heavy rains and times when all the eggs were desiccated due to the failure of continued rains post egg-laying. Unfortunately, some of the other threats initially thought negligible also seem to take a genuine toll on the species. Like many amphibians, habitat destruction seems to have had a detrimental impact on Purple Frogs. We have closely worked with researchers Rajkumar KP and Nithin Divakar from Kerala and Benjamin Tapley from the Zoological Society of London. In 2017, our work towards the conservation of the Purple Frog was supported by a fellowship that was awarded by the EDGE of Existence Programme, a conservation prioritisation tool focused on maintaining evolutionary history. At times they are also seen venturing out of the water to feed on algae and moss on rocks. These bright yellow Common Indian Toads, in their hormone-crazed state, attempt to mount anything and that includes a purposeful pair of Purple Frogs.Īdd More Images Purple Frog tadpoles have suctorial mouthparts which allow them to cling onto rocks in fast-flowing currents. In some areas, the amplectant pair is mobbed by other sexually frustrated male toads. With the burden that they carry, it is a miracle they don’t get washed away. Most of the time, the bulbous female has to waddle through fast-flowing sections of the stream to reach egg-laying sites. There are also hordes of crabs that prey on the Purple Frog and its eggs.

But it turned out to be Checkered Keelbacks that were catching frogs much bigger than what they could swallow.

The team first suspected owls – Brown Fish-owls and Brown Hawk-owls – after observing a few individuals feasting on the eggs. Every year, we would witness dead females with split abdomens and eggs soaked in blood scattered all over. The female's journey while carrying the male piggyback is a treacherous one. This individual was pictured at the edge of a coffee estate in the Anamalai Hills. Add More Images With the first monsoon rain, the male Purple Frog comes out from its underground tunnel and starts calling out to its potential mates.

Purple tree frog baby tiger