Greens welcoming the ‘Mahabali’ of frogs

While flower carpets welcome Kerala’s mythical king Mahabali from the netherworld every Onam, it is a plastic and glass clearing drive that is welcoming the ‘Mahabali’ of frogs, a purple-coloured, soil-dwelling amphibian that emerges for one night every year from its subterranean home near Pattikkad in Thrissur district.

A team of 33 nature enthusiasts, including researchers, activists from local NGOs and college students, collected 30 sacks of non-biodegradable waste in three hours at the Pattathipara waterfalls on Sunday. These included 270 discarded liquor bottles, 794 plastic bottles and 1,152 plastic covers, plates and cups. The aim was to rid the dry stream bed of waste brought in by tourists to ensure a safe breeding ground for the famed soil-dwelling purple frog Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, several of which live around the stream.

The frog, endemic to the Western Ghats, is seen only across Kerala and some parts of Tamil Nadu and is listed as “Endangered” under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Human threat

Such a cleaning programme is necessary because plastic and broken glass bottles – which are littered in plenty at the location – can pose a risk to the 33 egg-laying sites that purple frogs use here year after year, says Sandeep Das, who studies the frogs for his doctoral research at the Kerala Forest Research Institute.

According to Mr. Das, who coordinated the event at Pattikkad and is part of the EDGE of Existence programme which conducts research on unique species, plastic clogs up the small rock crevices on the stream bed.

“These small crevices lead to tiny underwater tunnels where the frogs lay their eggs in the first week of the monsoon,” he says, pointing to small bowl-sized depressions on the rocky stream bed.

Broken shards of alcohol bottles that people leave behind at the picturesque location can wound frogs and cause their death, he adds.

Not a tourist spot

Though tourists visit the Pattathipara waterfall after the rain, it is not a tourist spot and it is illegal to trespass the area without permission, said officials of the Forest Department who were present at the venue.

Participants came from Palakkad, Malappuram, and Ernakulam to participate in the event.