Endangered “Galaxy Frogs” Reportedly Died After Being Mishandled for Photos

Two Melanobatrachus indicus, the tiny, star-speckled “galaxy frog” of India’s Western Ghats, reportedly died after being handled for photos. If that sounds like a nightmare headline, it gets worse: a small population later vanished from a known site after repeated photography visits allegedly damaged the frogs’ microhabitat.

What Happened at the Site?

A Herpetology Notes paper describes how local informants reported groups of photographers visiting a monitored forest patch, overturning logs while searching for the frogs, and leaving the area visibly disturbed. Researchers later documented that many logs were not returned to their original position, and surrounding vegetation had been heavily trampled. And sadly, they didn’t manage to find M. indicus during follow-up surveys.

The same paper details what the informant said happened during the photography sessions. Photographers allegedly captured the frogs, translocated them from where they were found, and placed them on “photogenic” substrates like mossy logs. The animals were reportedly handled by multiple people; the report indicates that up to five people photographed the frogs at one time. To make things worse, they reportedly used high-power external flashes for roughly four hours per group. They wore no gloves, which is extremely harmful for these delicate beings, and they provided no hydration for the animals.

The authors note the informant’s claim that two frogs died during these sessions. However, they have no way to independently verify it.

[Related Reading: Ethical Travel Photography: How to Capture Without Exploiting]

Who These Frogs Are, and Why This Is Such a Big Deal

Melanobatrachus indicus is not just “a rare frog” – it is the only species in its genus. You can typically find it beneath rotting logs or stones. Sadly, that’s exactly the kind of microhabitat that is easy to destroy if you start flipping, breaking, or relocating cover.

“With pale blue speckles and bright orange patterning, galaxy frogs live only in the forests of the southern Western Ghats in India,” ZSL explains. “Measuring only 2-3.5cm in length, the tiny frog has been a flagship species for the Mathikettan Shola National Park in Kerala State since 2021.” 

“As the sole member of their genus on the Tree of Life, galaxy frogs are classified as an Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species – a group containing the world’s most unique species at risk of being lost forever.”

The Herpetology Notes paper describes it as “poorly known, Vulnerable frog” which is “considered a global priority for conservation due to its evolutionary history and global endangerment.”

In a report by the Guardian, researcher Rajkumar K P. says the key log at the site was destroyed: “The big beautiful fallen log that was there was completely broken and misplaced,” he said.

ZSL’s curator of reptiles and amphibians, Dr Benjamin Tapley, told the Guardian that the galaxy frogs are “likely an ‘ancient’, ‘irreplaceable’ branch on the tree of life.”

“I grimace every time I see a photo come up on my feed of a galaxy frog,” Tapley added. “I just wonder what happened? How was that taken? How was the habitat impacted?

Sadly, we’ve witnessed many cases of animals dying because someone wanted a better angle or a selfie. People have been scaring animals to death, baiting them for a photo, and mishandling them, causing them to lose their lives.

How to Take Ethical Animal Photos

If you photograph endangered species (especially amphibians), here are some basic recommendations to take as the baseline:

• Do not handle wildlife. If the shot requires touching, holding, propping, repositioning, or “just one quick lift” – do not take it.
• Do not disturb the microhabitat. No flipping logs, peeling bark, moving stones, clearing vegetation, or “resetting” the scene afterwards. If you can’t take the photo in given conditions, don’t reassemble the scene for your convenience.
• Minimize lighting impact. Avoid using flash or any strong lights. If you must add some lighting, reduce intensity and use diffusers. Our cameras can handle really high ISO nowadays, this may be a good time to rely on it.
• Never geotag precise locations of rare species. Even if you’re respectful and careful, geotagging may attract those who aren’t.
• Follow biosecurity protocols if researchers or authorities require them. Amphibians are uniquely sensitive to handling and contamination risk, and the paper explicitly flags the danger of handling multiple individuals without biosecurity.
• Do not let someone else break the rules “for the photo.” If a guide or another photographer starts staging animals or their habitat, walk away. Or even better, confront them and educate them on why not to do it.

I am sad to see animal species dying out, often because of human mishandling (to put it mildly). This story is a sad, but much needed reminder: your “set” is the whole home to many tiny creatures. Break the “set,” and you may be photographing the last chapter.

[via The Guardian; Image credits: Ben Tapley, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons]

---