I am Vajra, I am in 6th grade and I would like to document my experience about Amboli's Herpetology trip, with iCampers. I am an avid and yet budding fan of everything nature has to offer. I am deeply interested in birding, I love insects, I am fascinated by animal behavior and I am a proud brother of two extremely adorable Indie pups.
We started from Pune, India in the wee hours of Saturday morning. I was travelling with my fellow animal lovers Aditi and Anushree. We recently have done a lot of nature watching/hikes and also animal rehabilitation camps together. We three were quite clueless as to what these two days have in-store for us. All we knew was we were going to be in a car for a 13 hour long round trip. If not for anything else I was mildly excited about meeting my other birding buddy, Akshay at Amboli and also the fact that I was going to get my Mom's phone for the day to click photos. Though I deeply wish that I get my hands on a point and shoot Nikon P900 or Nikon P1000...soon!
We reached Amboli at lunch time and our energy levels were quite low from the journey, I needed something to feel rejuvenated. Around 2:30 pm we started out for our 1st trail. I was hoping for the best but also prepared for the worst. It hadn't rained since the time we came in and I had heard that frogs do a no-show when it isn't raining!! Amazingly, the second we entered the trail it started to rain heavily, there was this presence that made me feel like I was stepping into a different realm, croaking sounds and lush green trees, insects and frogs . Rain was pattering and hitting the leaves of plants and trees, it somehow amplified the life around us. It was just what I wanted to feel, nature was ready to welcome me and put another biotic adventure under my belt.
Our first sighting was a tree that had tiny frog eggs on its trunk , they were translucent eggs. This particular frog species , the Amboli Bush frog was unique since the being that emerged from the egg was not a tadpole but a tiny frog , this frog wasn’t full grown but the basic shape was right.
Our second sighting was a small ,green-eyed toad which was around 5-6cms long .Then we saw a a few tadpoles and an Amboli leaping frog , then a common Indian toad and a dancing leech.
What we saw next, was the amazing but kind of terrifying part , a snake, a small but scary baby Malabar Pit Viper , it is given that name since it has tiny pits near it’s venom glands ,those pits are used for thermal sensing to help it find its prey in the dark ,it was slithering across a small branch of a plant ,it had tiny white eyes that stared right into my soul.
Our first sighting was a tree that had tiny frog eggs on its trunk , they were translucent eggs. This particular frog species , the Amboli Bush frog was unique since the being that emerged from the egg was not a tadpole but a tiny frog , this frog wasn’t full grown but the basic shape was right.
Our second sighting was a small ,green-eyed toad which was around 5-6cms long .Then we saw a a few tadpoles and an Amboli leaping frog , then a common Indian toad and a dancing leech.
What we saw next, was the amazing but kind of terrifying part , a snake, a small but scary baby Malabar Pit Viper , it is given that name since it has tiny pits near it’s venom glands ,those pits are used for thermal sensing to help it find its prey in the dark ,it was slithering across a small branch of a plant ,it had tiny white eyes that stared right into my soul.
After that we saw another snake this time a Green Vine snake. It has this interesting overhang in front of the eyes that looks like a nose but it wasn’t a nose since snakes have an ability to smell with their tongue. Moving on , I got bit by a leech, I wouldn’t have even realized if I hadn’t seen it. Leech bites don't hurt, you know why? They have oral suckers that not only have anaesthetics making the host skin numb to sensation but also a substance called `hirudin' which doesn't clot host blood and makes it easier to effortlessly suck, so smart, right?
Continuing, me and my new friend Rohan were fooling around a bit , just when we got to see an Owl-eyed Moth which was huge , probably as big as my palm. We also saw so many tiny treasures on our way, a shiny blue Jewel Beetle , a Pill Millipede that crouched to make itself look exactly like a shell and many plant species with funny scientific names.
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Continuing, me and my new friend Rohan were fooling around a bit , just when we got to see an Owl-eyed Moth which was huge , probably as big as my palm. We also saw so many tiny treasures on our way, a shiny blue Jewel Beetle , a Pill Millipede that crouched to make itself look exactly like a shell and many plant species with funny scientific names.
We left for the evening to come back at night. We came back to a very very noisy night, where all the Amboli bush frogs were croaking along with cicadas and crickets, it was a cacophony at first but after a while it really didn’t matter since we were focused more upon their appearance than their noise.
Also we spotted a Day Gecko, ironically at night. After that we saw another snake in my opinion was our second best find , a Nilgiri Keelback. That specimen had fallen in a pond and would have died if it was in there any longer , but luckily our guide took him out . The snake was all coiled up on the edge of the pond. Next, we also found a small tadpole that had tiny spots on it and a bracket mushroom that was spewing smoke-like puffs of spores.
Also we spotted a Day Gecko, ironically at night. After that we saw another snake in my opinion was our second best find , a Nilgiri Keelback. That specimen had fallen in a pond and would have died if it was in there any longer , but luckily our guide took him out . The snake was all coiled up on the edge of the pond. Next, we also found a small tadpole that had tiny spots on it and a bracket mushroom that was spewing smoke-like puffs of spores.
We continued to walk on where we found another pond but this time the trees around it were accumulated by Malabar Gliding Frogs, at least 20 or so. They were a mix of shamrock and emerald green. They had a white underbelly, and legs which had an dark orangish yellow tinge to them. Three of them were fighting , probably over a female. Most frogs make their nests on land or in water but the Malabar Gliding Frog makes their nests in trees always over a small water body. These nests are made out of foam. This foam is made from a proteinaceous fluid. A foetus is formed inside the nest and after a week or so the tadpoles fall into the water below. Rain is a major part of this process. Due to rain the foam is washed away and the nest is left open so as to let the tadpoles fall into the water.
Next, while we were leaving, in a crack of a tree there was a millipede who was devouring an Amboli leaping frog. Succeeding the millipede's feast we saw a fresh cricket getting out of its molt, the wings were still shriveled and the juices had not entered that part of its body, yet. A frog in its last moments and a cricket just coming to life....!
What I experienced next will stay with me forever. We had to walk into deeper forest through a stream As we were walking on water everything around us was getting ready for the night. There were wrinkled frogs that sounded like whistling ghosts and gurgling of water made everything around me spooky yet exciting. This walk into the depth of the Amboli forest while night was falling was out of this world.
Finally , we ended the trail with a glance of a fresh green female Malabar pit viper. That was our last sighting of the day and I hope to do something like this again with iCampers. I am both amazed and inspired by our guide, fondly called Kaka, who is a treasure trove of information, the forest is so close to him, I really thank him for sharing his knowledge with us. I have not only seen nature but also learnt a lot about nature in this trip! Thank You!
Next, while we were leaving, in a crack of a tree there was a millipede who was devouring an Amboli leaping frog. Succeeding the millipede's feast we saw a fresh cricket getting out of its molt, the wings were still shriveled and the juices had not entered that part of its body, yet. A frog in its last moments and a cricket just coming to life....!
What I experienced next will stay with me forever. We had to walk into deeper forest through a stream As we were walking on water everything around us was getting ready for the night. There were wrinkled frogs that sounded like whistling ghosts and gurgling of water made everything around me spooky yet exciting. This walk into the depth of the Amboli forest while night was falling was out of this world.
Finally , we ended the trail with a glance of a fresh green female Malabar pit viper. That was our last sighting of the day and I hope to do something like this again with iCampers. I am both amazed and inspired by our guide, fondly called Kaka, who is a treasure trove of information, the forest is so close to him, I really thank him for sharing his knowledge with us. I have not only seen nature but also learnt a lot about nature in this trip! Thank You!
