Karpathos Frog is one of the most isolated and rarest amphibian species found in Europe.

The Scientific Name : Pelophylax(Rana) cerigensis

Where is it found?

The Karpathos Frog is currently found only in the Karpathos island of Greece situated in the Carpathian Sea of the Mediterranean. Till mid 90s the frog was believed to be found in the near by Rhodes island too. But later confirmed the species to be endemic to the Karpathos island only. In the island also, the frog is very restricted to just an single river system of area at most 100 square km(while the total area of the island is 350 square km) on the northern part of the island, near Olympos. The last population of the frog is found in the water sources of high altitude and mountains of Olympos. The Karpathos Forg prefers still or very slow running water.

How does it live?

The Karpathos Forg is mostly aquatic. Breeding and larval development of the Karpathos Frog takes place in their habitat waterbodies. The frog is probably carnivourous like other water frogs.

How does it look?

The Karpathos Frog is considered as a mid-sized frog, the adults can grow upto 7 cm in length. It has light brownish gray to olive color dorsal, with or without light brown spots. The venter is usually cream-colored with gray spots. The males have paired external lateral vocal sacs which are dark gray in color.

What are the threats?

Habitat loss is the greatest threat to the Karpathos Forgs. They are very sensitive to any habitat change. Any water pollution may be fatal to the species. karpathos is a dry island and in recent days there is a scarcity of fresh water sources due to excessive abstraction of it for agriculture and industries. The species is vulnerable to climatic change too which is a global phenomenon now. Wild fires are are considered as a threat to the species. Though the frog population site is remote, the species may go extinct anytime because of its small single site distribution of population.

Conservation Efforts

The Karpathos Frogs were adundant in the island in 1960s, the sitings of the frog have reduced dramatically in recent days. The government has declared protected areas for the Karpathos frogs. But not many organizations are known to have been working on the conservation of the species. There are no captive insurance population too. There were very little studies and researches done on the species and its conservation in the past. There is an urgent need to know more about the frog and provide proper monitoring and protection to its habitat.

River Dolphins are amongst the rarest aquatic mammals. They are  found in big rivers of  Asia and South America. The river dolphins can grow till 9-10 feet long and weigh  almost 200 pounds. There are four different species of the river dolphins known to humans, out of which three are fresh water dolphins and the other one lives in saltwater estuaries. The fresh water species are: Ganges and Indus river dolphins (Sisu and Bhulan),  Amazon river dolpins  (Boto) and Chinese river dolphins (Baiji). La Plata Dolphin (Franciscana) is the only salt water river dolphin found in South America. All these four species are critically endangered. In fact, Baiji or Chinese river dolphins are declared functionally extinct in 2007. Here goes the stories of all the different species:

River Dolphin

Ganges and Indus river dolphins:

Till 1998 Ganges and Indus river dolphins were considered as two different species. But in 1998 they were recognized as two sub species of the same species.  These dolphins are found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal in Ganges, Brahmaputra and Indus rivers and their tributaries. The total estimated numbers of Ganges river dolphins is around 2000. Out of these, around 300 lives in Brahmaputra and are facing critical threat due to accidental killing through fisheries bycatch, followed by poaching for oil. Few decades ago the dophins were widely seen across Brahmaputra and almost all its tributaries. But now the dolphins survive only in small poackets of the river. The Indus rive dolphins also known as Blind river dolphins are found in the lower reaches of Indus river in Pakistan. Its believed that only 1000 of this species exist now in the Indus river.

Amazon river dolphins:

The Amazon river dolphins inhabit  Orinoco, Amazon and Araguaia/Tocantins River systems of Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. This species is the largest and the most intelligent of all river dolphin species.  Although widely available in the Amazon, the number of this species is reducing every year.  Scientists believe that 1,500 dolphins are being killed annually in the western Amazon to fuel a lucrative trade in catfish, which feeds on dead animals.

Chinese river dolphins:

A team of scientists have concluded that the Chinese River dolphin, or baiji, is now functionally extinct following comprehensive surveys of its habitat.  Till 2006 it was found in Yangtze river of China. It is one more unfortunate event to animal history caused by human civilization. In last fifty years it is the only aquatic mammal extinction known to humans. Till 1950, around 6000 of this species existed in Yangtze river. But in few decades the number reduced due to hunting, pollution, habitat loss and other human interferences. The last Baiji was sighted in 2007.

La Plata river dolphins:

La Plata dolphins are the only river dolphins found in salt-water.  They inhabitat in in coastal Atlantic waters of southeastern South America.  They are greyish brown colour with the longest beak. The La Plata Dolphins grow 6 feet in length, weigh up to 50 kg (110 lb) and live for up to 20 years.  The La Plata River Dolphin is well known because of where it chooses to build it’s habitat.  It ranges through the La Plata River, which moves through Brazil and Argentina. Despite other fresh water dolphins, this particular dolphin has not adapted to only one type of water living.  It can move back and forth from the salt waters of the ocean and to the river waters that are fresh.  Scientists have raised concerns over the conservation of this species.  Large numbers of them are hunted or killed every year.

In the north east state of Manipur in India lies a true floating heaven, Loktak lake. The only lake in the world to house a floating bio-diversity and the only floating national-park  in the world, Keibul Lamjao National Park. In this heaven on earth resides a magnificent and beautiful deer, named Sangai. It is one of the most localized and endangered mammal species of the current time. Sangai with its unique characteristics make this heaven lively and more beautiful. But such a blessing of nature on the threat of destruction due to we humans today! Let’s find out more this unique species first.

'Loktak Lake - The Floating Heaven' - Courtesy Kishalaya Namaram @flickr

Sangai is the local name of the beautiful deer, the official English name is Manipur Brow-antlered Deer. The scientific name of the species is Rucervus eldi eldi McClelland. It is the a sub-species of the Eld’s Deer, found only and only in the floating lake of Manipur.

‘Sangai’ is derived from Manipur’s local language. ‘Sa’ means animal and ‘ngai’ means ‘waiting while looking on’. This name is given to the animal for the posture adopted by the animal while running. The deer, mainly the males, stops momentarily and suddenly after running some distance and again begins running as if the animal is eagerly waiting for someone. For this peculiar running style, the deer is also known as ‘Dancing Deer’, coined by famous naturalist E.P. Gee. The offiicial name Brow-antlered Deer is derived from the deer’s very distinctive antler.  The antlers normally grows over a meter in length with extremely long brow tine, hence the name.

Sangai has an important role in Manipur’s local tribes residing around the loktak lake. Till just a few decades back, the hunters took pride in adorning the heads with magnificent antlers in their village houses to signify the skill and accomplishment of the tribe. Though known locally before, the deer species was officially discovered by British officer, Lt. Percy eld in the year 1839. The scientific name of deer was later coined in honour of the officer in 1844.

Sangai - The Brow-Antlered Deer of Manipur

The marshy wetland in the Keibul Lamjao National Park is the only habitat of the Sangai in this world.  It is small park covering an area of 40 sq km. But the Sangai’s range is even smaller covering only 15-20 sq km of the park, making it one of the most localized sub-species in the world.

Because of Sangai’s traditional value, the deer was very zealously protected by the kings of Manipur till 20th century. But once British took over the regime, local and british hunters killed the elegant deer mercilessly. During few decades, it almost vanished from the loktak lake. In 1950, the brow-antlered deer was regarded as extinct. But in 1953, E.P. Gee  took pain to locate the deer at Keibul Lamjao. Some serious efforts were taken to revive the rare species. In 1954, an area of around 20 sq miles was declared as sanctuary to save the Sangai. In i977 the sanctuary was declared as a National Park.

In 1959 E. P. Gee first conducted a survey on the ‘Dancing Deer’, as he named. Taking various samples, he estimated the total population of the species as around 100. A devastating flood in 1966 wiped away many deer lives bringing the Sangai population even lower. In 1972 a rough survery done by naturalist M. K. Ranjitsinh, the population was estimated as just 50. Ranjitsinh again did a more sophisticated survey in 1975. At the height of the dry season, he surveyed the whole Keibul Lamjao park with a helicopter. Flying at just 100 to 300 feet high from the ground, the aerial survey provided a surprising number, 14. 5 stags, 6 hinds and 3 fawns, probably the rarest mamal of that time. In 1977, Ranjitsinh did another aerial survey to find a number of 18. These records were shock to the authorities and strict measurements were taken after 1977, also declaring the area as national park.  Census conducted by the Forest Department later times in 1990, 2000 and 2003 revealed the population as 76, 162 and 180 respectively. This shows an encouraging number, but the beautiful Sangai is still not out of the extinction danger.

We will discuss more about the Sangai in our future articles.