UDUPI: The rare Malabar tree toad was sighted in Mannapapu Mane in Mala village of Karkala taluk, Udupi district, in the third week of June when a batrachologist Dr Gururaj K V and his team conducted a ‘frog walk’ programme in the Western Ghats. The sighting of this frog has evoked curiosity among his team. This rare species of frog that does not jump like other frog species, has striking gold-coloured eyes and more studies are yet to be conducted upon its behavioural patterns.
This frog, which glides on trees, lives in a group of five to ten. It lays eggs in waterbodies. Faculty at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru, Dr Gururaj told TNSE that during their frog walk programme, 14 species of frogs were sighted in Mala, Karkala, and sighting of the Malabar tree toad has rekindled their curiosity.