“A group of endangered ‘galaxy frogs’ are missing, presumed dead, after trespassing photographers reportedly destroyed their microhabitats for photos. Melanobatrachus indicus lives under logs in the lush rainforest in Kerala, India,” reports Climate News Now. These frogs have beautiful, star-like, blue or white spots.
As The Guardian explains, “Their miraculous spots do not indicate poison, as people sometimes assume,” but rather seem to be “used as a mode of communication.” “In early 2020, a zoological researcher found seven members of the ‘magical’ species in the Western Ghats rainforest in India, but could not visit them during the Covid pandemic. When he went back later, the frogs had disappeared.”
“The big beautiful fallen log that was there was completely broken and misplaced,” the researcher said.
“The vegetation was also trampled, and the frogs, whose homes had been destroyed, were nowhere to be found,” notes The Guardian. “Two small galaxy frogs had died after being handled for too long by photographers.” “They would take the animal to some nice background or mossy log to take the photograph, relocating it from one place to another to get better photos. On that day they got five or six frogs and two of them died.”
Recently, 60-year-old palm trees flowered for the first and only time in their lives. They will never flower again.
A giant stick bug was discovered in Australia earlier this year.
“Wolves, bears, and boars are growing in number in Greece. A wildlife specialist referenced in the article credits milder winters and the falling popularity of hunting,” reports The Doomslayer.
