Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, an ardent wildlife enthusiast, shared a photo of a frog on his Facebook and Instagram posts recently.
The photo was of a galaxy frog, an amphibian species endemic to the eastern part of the Western Ghats. The photo was taken by Sandeep Das, a researcher and wildlife photographer from Thrissur.
“It was a double treat for me. I was already thrilled as an article by a group of researchers across the world, including me, on ‘Ongoing declines for the world amphibians in the face of emerging threats’ was published in the science journal Nature on October 4. It was unbelievable that DiCaprio shared an abstract of that report along with my photo of a galaxy frog,” says Mr. Das.
Mr. Das, who is doing post doctoral research in disease ecology of amphibians, says he started wildlife photography as a tool to aid his research. “I work mostly in taxonomy, ecology, and biology. Recording the study subjects is important. Many times, a photo communicates better than a study report to the common man.”
“Galaxy frog (Melanobatrachus indicus) may be one of the most beautiful frogs in the world itself. It may be the reason why it easily caught the eyes of the actor. I took that photo from Thekkady,” says Mr. Das.
The Titanic star had earlier shared the news about a freshwater fossorial fish found in a well in Alappuzha.
Galaxy frog has been identified as the flagship species for conservation in the Mathikettan Shola National Park, home to rare flora and fauna. It is rare that an amphibian species becomes the flagship species for conservation of a national park, Mr. Das, who did his research from the Kerala Forest Research Institute on amphibians of the Eravikulam park, says.
Galaxy frog, though small in size, is known by the name due to his galaxy-like appearance and is blue and yellow in colour. One of the rarest frogs, galaxy frog’s immediate relatives are in East Africa.
Legal and Illegal expansion of agriculture, timber and plant harvesting, infrastructure development and climate change are the common threats to the amphibians across the world.
