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Hanging for life!! Last week my friend  and I were exploring one of the places rich in bio diversity in the Western Ghats - Amboli. There is so much life and action on macro scale. It is very delicate ecosystem. One of the wettest places i have ever been!!<br />
In monsoons, it rains heavily, when not the atmosphere is filled with fog. The visibility on a mid-day will be just around 10 feet, forget the night time. <br />
Sometimes it will be drizzling all the while or sometimes you can see fog and rain together!You can never see a dry patch anywhere in Amboli during the <br />
monsoon!! <br />
It was around 4 in the evening while exploring, we came across this spawn of eggs. The eggs were on bark of a tree with thick moss grown on them. They were not under any pond/stream or anywhere close to them. The eggs were already in advance stage of development. They had developed tiny little limbs, a tail,the eyes were prominent, the veins were visible in few of the eggs. Probably, the eggs would have hatched as frog-lets in couple of days.<br />
The placement of these precious eggs is so fascinating. The frogs choose to lay the eggs on bark of trees with thick moss. We came across many such spawns later. All except one was laid above 5 feet. The spawn that was lower was well hidden. One cannot get to see the eggs just by skimming the bark of the trees, you need to observe!!<br />
After spending some time with the eggs we decided to come back at night to try our luck to find out to which species the eggs belonged to!! The absence of <br />
rains was a disappointment! We saw many male Minervarya sahyadris frogs calling from trees with thick moss on them. We also saw couple of females close by. We planned to observe the entire behavior, but the females decided to head the other way.The lack of rains might be the reason. We came back the next day to check out the trees for any fresh eggs but there were none. <br />
This one egg was separate from the spawn, but still it is hanging for life. The struggle for survival of this individual has been started even before it is born. Hope this egg survives and hatch successfully! Amboli bush frog,Geotagged,India,Pseudophilautus amboli,Summer,development,egg,endangered,endemic,frog,froglet,india,macro,western ghats Click/tap to enlarge PromotedSpecies introCountry intro

Hanging for life!!

Last week my friend and I were exploring one of the places rich in bio diversity in the Western Ghats - Amboli. There is so much life and action on macro scale. It is very delicate ecosystem. One of the wettest places i have ever been!!
In monsoons, it rains heavily, when not the atmosphere is filled with fog. The visibility on a mid-day will be just around 10 feet, forget the night time.
Sometimes it will be drizzling all the while or sometimes you can see fog and rain together!You can never see a dry patch anywhere in Amboli during the
monsoon!!
It was around 4 in the evening while exploring, we came across this spawn of eggs. The eggs were on bark of a tree with thick moss grown on them. They were not under any pond/stream or anywhere close to them. The eggs were already in advance stage of development. They had developed tiny little limbs, a tail,the eyes were prominent, the veins were visible in few of the eggs. Probably, the eggs would have hatched as frog-lets in couple of days.
The placement of these precious eggs is so fascinating. The frogs choose to lay the eggs on bark of trees with thick moss. We came across many such spawns later. All except one was laid above 5 feet. The spawn that was lower was well hidden. One cannot get to see the eggs just by skimming the bark of the trees, you need to observe!!
After spending some time with the eggs we decided to come back at night to try our luck to find out to which species the eggs belonged to!! The absence of
rains was a disappointment! We saw many male Minervarya sahyadris frogs calling from trees with thick moss on them. We also saw couple of females close by. We planned to observe the entire behavior, but the females decided to head the other way.The lack of rains might be the reason. We came back the next day to check out the trees for any fresh eggs but there were none.
This one egg was separate from the spawn, but still it is hanging for life. The struggle for survival of this individual has been started even before it is born. Hope this egg survives and hatch successfully!

    comments (9)

  1. I love the story behind this photo, thank you for sharing! Posted 7 years ago
    1. Thank you! Posted 7 years ago
  2. This surely is one of the most interesting and original photos to date. Congrats, Karthik, and all-time favorite! Posted 7 years ago
    1. Thank you Fredy! Posted 7 years ago
    2. Thank you Ferdy! Posted 6 years ago
  3. Interesting story, even I have visited this place. Its an awesome experience. Good Job !! Posted 7 years ago
    1. Yea an amazing place full of life!!
      Thanks!
      Posted 7 years ago
  4. Such an interesting account and photo. Thank you so much! The Posted 6 years ago
  5. Awesome photo and story! Posted 6 years ago

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The Amboli bush frog is a rare shrub frog species endemic to the Western Ghats . It is found in Amboli and Amba in Maharashtra and in Castle Rock, Londa, Jog Falls-Mavingundi, and Kudremukh-Malleshwaram in Karnataka.

Similar species: Frogs
Species identified by karthik_ak
View karthik_ak's profile

By karthik_ak

All rights reserved
Uploaded Jul 16, 2015. Captured Jul 11, 2015 16:08 in Silverspring Resort Access Road, Jakatwadi, Amboli, Maharashtra 416510, India.
  • NIKON D7200
  • f/18.0
  • 1/100s
  • ISO250
  • 90mm