Yellow frogs in Kollam trigger panic

KOLLAM: Unprecedented presence of yellow frogs in ponds and marshy fields after copious rains has become a curious sight for Kollam natives.  It also has created panic among residents, who started killing those frogs ruthlessly, confusing them to be poisonous. Ecologists have now come to their rescue with the conclusion that the colour change is quite common in Indian bullfrogs (hoplobatrachus tigerinus). 

These frogs radically change their hue from olive green to yellow during the mating period, and there is nothing to panic. “These yellow frogs are seen in congregations for the last two days after a good rain," Sainudeen Pattazhy, chairman of Kerala Environment Research Association, told DC. “There is nothing to panic, and the rumours that they are poisonous are baseless. These are the most common frogs that have changed colour to attract the opposite sex.”

“These frogs, commonly known as bullfrogs, are normally found in brown or pale green hue. They live solitary in wetlands and aquatic habitats, assembled in congregations only during the mating season,” he added. Several countries including Thailand use these frogs for food and are also exported.  Earlier in India, they were extensively hunted for food, particularly their thighs, and were also renowned for exports. It was later included in schedule IV of the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act, and the export of the same banned. “Meanwhile, these frogs are of great importance to the ecosystem in which they live in, controlling the pests on crops,” Mr Pattazhy, who is also a zoology professor at SN College Kollam, said.