Photo StoryPublished : Mar 21, 2025Updated : Mar 24, 2025
Frogs have managed to build a well-adapted relationship with Coorg’s plantations, though each species has its own preferred microhabitat or environmental niche
Text by: Smriti Mahesh
Photos by: Dhritiman Mukherjee
Frogs have managed to build a well-adapted relationship with Coorg’s plantations, though each species has its own preferred microhabitat or environmental niche
Night falls over a coffee plantation in Madikeri, a town perched on a mountainous plateau in the central Western Ghats. As the rain dies down, clattering calls fill the air from the lily pond outside the estate bungalow. Deeper in the plantation, a soft “plop”, barely discernible from dripping water, emanates from the canopy. A stream gushes through the estate, complemented by a cacophony of trills and whistles, all adding to a soundscape that illustrates Madikeri’s immensely rich frog life.
Placed roughly 1,160 m above sea level, Madikeri falls in the Kodagu district of Karnataka, a region that still carries the name Coorg from colonial times. While it is surrounded by multiple protected areas to the west and southeast, the area is dominated by plantations, with a smattering of sacred groves or “devar kadus” as they are known in Kannada. A conversation with Dr Vishnupriya Sankararaman, a herpetologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society – India, reveals that Madikeri continues to boast an impressive diversity of amphibians, with over 35 species of frogs reported from the plantations alone.
The seemingly well-adapted relationship that frogs have managed to build with Coorg’s plantations is only one side of the story. Each of these frogs has its own preferred environmental niche, and the availability of these niches within the larger plantation matrix is strongly affected by plantation management as well as larger issues, such as climate change, deforestation, and land encroachment.
Coorg has been a popular hill station for decades, and the influx of tourists looking for a green getaway has only increased in recent years. The region’s infrastructure is growing rapidly, erasing much of the age-old tree systems that once held the soil intact on the slopes. Predictable monsoons filled with steady rainfall have slowly given way to long, dry spells punctuated by torrential downpours that the landscape is not equipped to handle. The synergistic effect of all these processes manifests in faster soil erosion, landslides, and further degradation of natural habitats. The preservation of forests such as sacred groves, appropriate management of plantations, and restoration of disturbed forests are crucial for the future of Coorg’s human and amphibian residents.
The continued prevalence of frogs in Coorg’s coffee plantations can be partly attributed to the shade-loving nature of Arabica coffee, for which large tracts of native trees were maintained to protect the coffee from direct sunlight. However, there has been a recent shift among coffee planters as sun-loving Robusta coffee is becoming more popular than shade-loving Arabica, leading to a drop in the native tree cover that coffee estates supported.
Some bush frogs, such as these (1) juvenile and (2) adult Coorg yellow bush frogs (Raorchestes luteolus), adapt well to these disturbed habitats and are commonly found across coffee plantations and by roadsides in this region. But not all frogs are as well adjusted. For example, the (3) small tree frog (Rhacophorus lateralis) requires a more specific microhabitat. It lays its eggs in a foam nest on leaves hanging over stagnant pools and relies on rainfall to wash the mature eggs into the water. A study by Sankararaman et al. (2021) found that the combined availability of three microhabitats — ponds, unpaved roads, and streams — has a strong positive impact on the richness of frog species found in plantations.
The elegant dancing frog (Micrixalus elegans) (1,3,4) belongs to a fascinating family of frogs endemic to the Western Ghats. During the breeding season (which occurs post-monsoon), the males of this species position themselves on prominent rocks beside streams to attract females. However, these frogs are not confined to basic forms of advertisement, such as calling. In addition to showing off their white vocal sacs while calling, they tap their hindlimbs and extend them from their body in a wide arc, keeping their toes splayed to complete the effect. This striking behaviour, known as foot-flagging, earns them the name “dancing frogs” and adds a strong visual component to their search for mates. Once the pair has mated, the female uses her hindlimbs to hollow out a space for the fertilised eggs in the streambed and covers them with sand and gravel. The need for appropriate streams for the reproductive cycles of these frogs restricts their distribution to specific patches within plantations that still harbour such sites.
The endangered Coorg night frog (Nyctibatrachus sanctipalustris) belongs to an evolutionarily significant family of frogs that originated in the Late Cretaceous period and dispersed across the Palakkad Gap to diversify into different species in the Late Eocene. The long Western Ghats, starting from south Gujarat and ending in Kerala-Tamil Nadu, is an almost continuous range, except for the 35-km wide Palakkad Gap (and to a lesser extent the 7.5-km Shencottah Gap) on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. The separation between mountain ranges caused by these gaps has led to the strong endemism of some species in this family to the ranges in which they are found. While those found south of the Palakkad Gap are mostly small leaf-litter-dwellers, the night frogs found north of the gap are larger and rely greatly on torrents and small streams during the breeding season. The presence of the Coorg night frog in coffee plantations in Karnataka is heartening and highlights the need to consciously preserve the local streams they need for survival.
“While plantation owners are typically unaware of or indifferent to the presence of frogs, they are usually excited to learn about the vast diversity of frogs found in their plantations”, says Dr Sankararaman. In a fast-changing landscape facing a slew of local and global threats, a positive attitude from locals towards their thumb-sized neighbours provides a beam of hope for their conservation.
About the contributors
Smriti Mahesh
is currently pursuing a BS-MS in Biological Sciences at IISER Thiruvananthapuram and is an editor and outreach representative at the Chennai Young Naturalists' Network. When she isn't out chasing the subject of her next photograph, she can be found reading and writing at the bottom of her latest wild rabbithole.
is one of India's most prolific wildlife and conservation photographers. His work has been featured in leading publications. He is also a RoundGlass Ambassador, and an RBS Earth Hero awardee.
