Last week I unexpectedly bumped into one of our past vivarium volunteers, Andrew Johnson. It’s several years ago since Andrew worked in the department, but he’s developed such an interest in frogs that after studying for his Zoology Degree here at Manchester he took off to Borneo in search of some very cool species. Chatting with him brought memories of finding unusual Asian frogs flooding back.
It’s been a while since I first went to Asia to look for frogs, but my memories of finding some amazing species are still as vivid as ever. From the minute I arrived on the Continent I could hardly contain my excitement, and I remember waking early the very first morning to witness a very beautiful rising red sun before heading towards the rainforest. The opportunity to enter a new rainforest environment where I had never been before or had any idea of the frog calls absolutely thrilled me to bits ))
Apart from finding some amazing snakes during that trip I found some really incredible frogs, from the large tree-dwelling gliding frog Rhacophorous nigropalmatus, to the strange looking ground-dweller Leptobrachium hendricksoni (pictured). Below are a few photos of just some of the species I came across during my time researching frog DNA in Thailand . These were found mainly at night in the darkness of the rainforest, where I am always in my element )) If you have ever been in the rainforest at night, turned off your torch, and just stood there silently in the darkness amidst the smells and sounds of nature you will know exactly what I mean – you become nature, you become at one with the forest, you feel truly alive.
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I have been wondering where you were. Are the eyes of the ground dweller really that vicious looking red? The little guy in the slide show reminds me of those sticky-man toys I used to buy my grandchildren. You throw them against the wall and they”walk” down. The feet are the same as that frog’s feet.