Kerala May Declare ‘Mahabali Frog’ As State’s Official Amphibian – Free PDF Download

Introduction

• The Kerala Forest Department has recommended to the government to declare ‘Mahabali Frog’ – a rare and endangered species of frog which lives underground all its life, as the state frog.

• The Mahabali frog aka Pig-nosed frog is a rare species in Kerala also known as the ‘Purple Frog’, was first discovered in 2003 by Professor Biju of Delhi.
• In 2017, yet again, the frog species made headlines after the London Zoological Foundation presented a paper on the unique abilities of the highly elusive and endangered frog species.

What does the Pig-nosed frog look like? 

• These frogs live underground for their whole lives and breed only during the rainy season each year.
• Following their brief courtship above the ground, they quietly go back under the soil in a few days, where they lay eggs.
• Reportedly, these frogs are large built with small legs, small head and pointed snout-like lips.

Where is the Purple Frog found?

• The species is currently only found in the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala and the Anaimalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu. This species of frog is hunted for its medicinal properties.

Periyar Tiger Reserve

• Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (PNP) is a protected area near Thekkady in the districts of Idukki, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta in Kerala.

• The park is often called the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary or Thekkady. It is located high in the Cardamom Hills and Pandalam Hills of the south Western Ghats along the border with Tamil Nadu.
• The first official action towards the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity in Kerala was taken in 1934 by the Maharaja of Travancore, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, by declaring the forests around Periyar lake as a private game reserve to stop the encroachment of tea plantations
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the species as endangered.
• The Kerala Forest Department has recommended that these species be declared a state frog for the sake of conservation and development of biodiversity in the region.

Kerala’s conservation efforts

• In 2018, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government declared ‘Budha Mayoori’ as the state butterfly of Kerala.
• While the Asiatic Elephant is the state’s animal, Great Hornbill is the official bird. Green Chromide, Kanikonna and Coconut tree are the state’s official fish, flower and tree.

Roots in mythology

• Mahabali, or Maveli, was a benevolent Asura king who ruled over the region of Kerala but was banished into the netherworld by Lord Vishnu in order to appease the gods.
• But Maveli was granted one wish: he could return to Kerala for a single day and meet his subjects.
• This day in Kerala came to be celebrated as ‘Thiruvonam’, the most auspicious day of Onam when people would greet their old king.

Why is it so special?

• It’s evolutionary roots suggest it could have shared space with dinosaurs going back almost 70 million years ago.
• This could help scientists understand how it’s population may have evolved and learned to overcome the challenges of shifting land masses.
• A year after it was documented, the frog’s closest relatives were found in Seychelles, an island in the Indian Ocean off East Africa.
• This discovery led many to ask whether the species could indeed be living proof of the theory of Gondwanaland.

Another proof for continental drift

• Mammals and rodents have often travelled the seas through ships and with voyagers. But amphibians can’t tolerate salinity.
• So it’s a possibility that the landmass could have been connected (for the species’ close relatives to be found on two continents today).

• Several new species are often threatened even before they are formally named and known to science.
• Many of these may already be extinct before they are discovered.
• It is an unfortunate fate that scientists call as the nameless extinction.

Question:

Consider the following statements about Mahabali  frog:

1. It is listed as endangered on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
2. The Mahabali frog aka Pig-nosed frog is a rare species in Kerala also known as the ‘Purple Frog.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) Both 1 and 2 are correct

(b) 1 Only

(c) 2  only

(d) Both 1 and 2 are incorrect

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