Amboli Herpetofauna

It was with excitement that a small group of nature enthusiasts bundled into the bus from Kolhapur station, bound towards the wettest place in Maharashtra- Amboli. A herpetofauna paradise, Amboli hill station is situated in southern Maharashtra, home to various indigenous species of the Western Ghats, and named as one of the world’s ‘Eco’ Hot spots.

Nature India tour operators, Adesh Shivkar and Mandar Khadilkar had organised a herpetofauna educational trip to Amboli, under the guidance of leading herpetologist Varad Giri. I am glad to say that my expectations for the trip were not just fulfilled but far surpassed.

En route Kolhapur to Amboli, the scenic lush green landscape was a welcome sight as opposed to the dreary cityscape that we are so used to. We stopped halfway during the bus ride to observe and photograph a special variety of orchid, Habenaria longicorniculata. The most distinct characteristic of this orchid is the presence of a long spur, which can only be pollinated by the long proboscis of the Hummingbird Mock Moth. This example is a good reminder as to the interrelation of eco-links, and the need for conservation of even the smallest species.

In about two hours from Kolhapur, we arrived at our resort, Whistling woods, owned by the naturalist and butterfly expert, Hemant Ogle, whose efforts to conserve Amboli and its rich ecosystem are highly laudatory. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the accommodations were luxurious, and the Kanda Poha/ Sheera breakfast preparation was very tasty. With sweet chai warming our cold feet, we set out for a series of nature trails guided by Varad Giri, who has a snake species, Dendrelaphis girii named after him due to his enormous contribution to herpetology.

Varad Giri’s unbridled passion for herpetofauna, enthused the participants to become pro-active, and we eagerly followed him, ploughing through the muck and observing tadpoles and eggs in small water pools. As he freely gave us knowledge accumulated over years of research, we began to search for species, trying to identify them ourselves.

This Malabar pit viper juvenile was discovered just outside our hotel room, characterised by its triangular head and brownish colouration.

Habitat is a key identifying feature as is the reaction of the animal to danger, indicating behavioural habits. A very interesting characteristic of the Indirana frog is that it only lays eggs on rocks and not in water as is common. Thus the tadpoles have developed suckers to navigate along the rocky surfaces. It was a pleasure to spot a number of eggs of the wrinkled frog on overhanging leafs by the stream banks, on either side of the road.

The endemic Amboli toad, characterised by its tiger patterns, lays eggs in clutches like frogs, and not in a line, unlike the other toads.

In between field trips, Varad Giri held a series of slideshows and revisions, where he untiringly broke down scientific terms (Apoda, Anura and Caudata) into layman terms, so that we could grasp them easily. His ready wit and humour kept us on our toes, both during the slideshows and on field. By the end of the slideshows, I was in love with the same reptiles that I had considered with dislike, only two days before. We learnt how colour is a variant, and began to take notice of other characteristics of the species, recalling what we had learnt on slideshows during the field trips. 

The Bronzeback tree snakes were spotted right outside our hotel, about four of them, wound on the trees above our heads, their white underbellies glinting in the torchlight, on our first night trail. The Giri’s bronzeback tree snake differs from the Common bronzeback, by the presence of two scales in the loreal region. Varad Giri taught us the differences between frogs and toads, where frogs distinctly have slimy skins, and a supratympanic fold, as opposed to toads, who have rough warty skins and parotid glands. Frogs have longer hind legs, five toes behind-four ahead, and toads have five in both. All these characteristics helped us to identify frogs and toads.

                  Narrow mouthed Frog (Ramanella sp.)

On the second day, we undertook a trail into the jungle, and there were hardly any leeches due to the heavy rainfall.  Now and then there were brief showers, and sometimes a downpour, which only added to the adventure and excitement of the trek.

While expert birder, Adesh Shivkar spotted many species with his keen eyesight, Mandar Khadilkar showed us some specimens, allowing us careful observation.

Varad Giri’s relentless work in researching the Caecilians, made this unusual species the highlight of the trip. We learnt to identify the caecilians based on the annuli, Icthyopus having the most closely spaced ones. Besides that we observed, the presence or absence of tail, and also the position of the tentacle with respect to the eyes and nostril, the Indotyphlus, having it in between the two.

The Yellow-striped (the yellow line breaks at the eye) Ichtyophis Davidii, was spotted by one of the participants, after we learnt how to turn rocks ourselves. We examined the specimen deducing the conclusion, based on its characteristics. It was very interesting to learn about how Varad Giri was instrumental in naming the species, by adding a prefix of ‘Deva’ meaning God to its name, which helped in grassroots conservation efforts, preventing locals from killing it- an unusual but effective conservation approach.

                        Ichtyophis Davidii Caecilian

The Wolf spider characterised by the fact that it does not build its own nests.

A dwarf gecko is characterised by a circular pupil, and the communal laying of eggs by the females. Geckos are easily identified by their dorso-ventrally flattened bodies, granular scales, and ear openings. Well developed lamellae on the toes, indicate climbing abilities

               Golden Emperor Moth Caterpillar

Snakes are characterised by the presence of overlapping scales, no eyelids and no visible ears. They can smell with their tongues, and Varad Giri provided us with a fascinating piece of information that the tongues of snakes are forked, which help them to determine even the direction their prey is moving towards.

A silhouette indicating the distinct head shape of the green vine snake.

                                       Endemic Crab

The Garden Calotes differs from the Forest Calotes, due the presence of more prominent dorsal spikes. Calotes are lizards, with overlapping scales, laterally flattened bodies, unlike geckos, and with ear-openings.

The endemic Malabar gliding tree frog found just outside Hemant Ogle’s compound is an arboreal tree frog defined by its dilated toes. The position of eyes on either side is unlike aquatic tree frogs which have eyes on the top of their heads.

We also spotted the Prashadi Gecko, characterised by the tubercles on its scales, and also the juveniles in this species, are distinctly different from the adults.

Over the course of three days, we were lucky to observe the narrow mouthed frog, forest calotes, banded gecko, indirana frog, wrinkled frog and monitor lizard amongst a variety of other species.

In between field trips, we gorged on delicious Konkani food at a local restaurant, including the famous solkadhi. Adesh and Mandar were very attentive, responsible and resourceful organisers, and I would highly recommend Nature India trips to anyone and everyone.

We signed off with a rescued Bamboo pit viper, just outside our hotel.

Collectively, it was like a three year herpetology degree in three days, if we were to compare how much we actually learn in college today, and how much we learnt on field with an expert like Varad Giri.

An illuminating talk by Mr. Bhave drew attention to the critically endangered flora and fauna of the Western Ghats, which is rapidly deteriorating due to various industrial and mining projects. The rich biodiversity of Amboli, including the discovery of some undescribed species on our trip itself, is evidence enough that these eco hot stops need immediate conservation efforts.

This trip was a step ahead from just nature-watching ones, and this little step can make all the difference in turning a nature enthusiast into a budding conservationist.

July 26- 28 2013