Galaxy Frogs, or Melanobatrachus indicus are on the brink of extinction. Habitat destruction driven by photographers presents a huge risk to their continued existence. These multicolored minuscule critters, measuring no more than a fingernail, flourish in the dense jungles of God’s own country-Kerala, India. They mostly live in the Western Ghats, a declared UNESCO World Heritage Site. In fact, reports have come out claiming that some photographers are actively hunting these rare frogs. Sadly, their efforts have done tremendous harm to the frogs’ native habitat.
Galaxy Frogs have a beautiful black skin with blue dots. These small spots are thought to play a central role in keeping them communicating with one another. On top of that, they have colorful orange banding on the seamy joints. The attraction of these amphibians has resulted in photographers moving them to get better photographic results. This practice has been deadly. We’ve been hearing reports that between two out of five to two out of six frogs were dying from photographers’ mishandling them.
During the early months of 2020, wildlife lover Rajkumar was fortunate enough to find seven Galaxy Frogs living in their wilderness nestled deeply within the Western Ghats. The Covid pandemic made it impossible for him to return to watch them on a regular basis. Through these conversations, he found out what other photographers were doing in the region. He was concerned about the poisonous effects on the frogs.
“The big beautiful fallen log that was there was completely broken and misplaced,” – Rajkumar.
Rajkumar went on to share that trackers were the ones who first told him about the negative impact of photographer interventions. He stated, “He mentioned there were a couple of photographers visiting that location. Several small groups. So later I contacted my other trackers, and they started telling me everything that had happened.”
Dr. Benjamin Tapley, curator of reptiles and amphibians at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), noted why Galaxy Frogs matter. He highlighted their importance in protecting our planet’s biodiversity. He called them nothing less than an “ancient,” “irreplaceable” branch on the tree of life. Dr. Tapley expressed his distress over the situation:
“I grimace every time I see a photo come up on my feed of a galaxy frog,” – Tapley.
Yet he persisted, raising alarm about the environmental degradation that went hand-in-hand with this photographic quest. “I just wonder what happened? How was that taken? How was the habitat impacted?” – Tapley.
While the forest department has made several attempts to stop this activity, Rajkumar said the department faces difficulties at the enforcement stage. “The forest department officers try to prevent these kinds of groups coming. They use higher officials – politicians, high court judges, or something like that – to allow them to take photographs,” he said.
While both Rajkumar and Dr. Tapley were realistic about the uphill battle for ethical practices to win out among wildlife photographers, they sounded hopeful notes. Dr. Tapley hopes for greater awareness:
“We’re really hopeful that we can encourage people to act more ethically so that incredible species like the galaxy frog can continue to thrive for millions more years.” – Tapley.
Rajkumar’s affection for these frogs is evident as he reflects on their beauty: “I fell in love with these frogs after seeing them. You feel like they’re jet black in colour, but when you put them under light you can find all the stars – like galaxies on their bodies. It’s just magical.”