Erratic monsoon threatens rare Matheran Wrinkled Frog breeding in Western Ghats

Soft, shell-less eggs of the Matheran Wrinkled Frog on a damp forest rock. Pic/Mahesh Yadav, naturalist and wildlife photographer

A sudden break in the monsoon has put the breeding cycle of the rare Matheran Wrinkled Frog at risk, with entire egg clutches drying up and dying in the Western Ghats. The incident has raised concerns over how erratic weather and climate change could threaten local wildlife.

Rain reliance

Unlike most frogs, the Matheran Wrinkled Frog (Nyctibatrachus humayuni) lays its soft, shell-less eggs on damp forest rocks, making the species heavily dependent on continuous rainfall and high humidity.

A spell of four to five days of rain triggered breeding this season. But the weather suddenly turned hot and dry, depriving the eggs of the moisture they needed.

A wildlife expert, while speaking to mid-day, said, "If the dry spell continues, it could severely impact the survival of future wildlife generations across this fragile ecosystem."

Expert Speak

Jigar Solanki, a PhD scholar, DES Pune University
"The crisis is a warning of climate change's impact on the Western Ghats. Monsoon-specialist frogs like these lay eggs on wet rocks, but climate change is rewriting their survival rules. Delayed rains and harsh dry spells are dehydrating their delicate eggs. These specialised amphibians are the true sentinels of climate change - when we lose them, our ecosystem's foundation dissolves in the shadows."

Mahesh Yadav, naturalist and wildlife photographer
"Witnessing these egg clutches dry up in real time is heart-wrenching. We usually measure climate change by human discomfort or crop loss, but the real impact is silently destroying these tiny species. If this erratic monsoon pattern continues, we will soon lose these vital ecosystem indicators from our forests forever."