It has been an interesting two months in our apartment. We have a new resident - a tree frog. Inside our apartment. Early May, I noticed it in our balcony while watering the few plants that we have there. It kind of leapfrogged with a start as water splashed on it.
I was quite bemused - how did this frog land up on a 3rd floor balcony. OK maybe I didnt see right, maybe it was a frisky garden lizard, I mused, and didn't think too much about it.
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| A few days later - it was exploring our apartment. OK sorry - this is the only picture I could manage in poor light before it jumped and hid behind the cabinet. |
Now what?
Many days - and there was no sighting - until our carpenter who was undertaking some repairs on the said cabinet informed us triumphantly that he caught it and flung it out of the open window. Aha, we cheered, now it must be back in the garden where it belongs!
However, a few days later and lo and behold it was hopping merrily under our dining table, once again seeking refuge behind the cabinet when we tried to chase or catch it.
This game of frog and human continued - one day on the window sill, one day on the window itself, another evening spied on the wall below the window sill. Should we leave window open or close? What does it eat, how is it surviving?
Of course with all these questions and supposedly being one with my natural environment, I tried to maintain an insouciant air, while every morning looking around nervously so as not be startled by something leaping at my feet.
This poor quality picture above gave me an id - Chunam Tree Frog (Polypedates maculatus) from Inaturalist, and this set me off on my Google research and quest.
I laughed at this paragraph in Wiki - "In south India they can be a nuisance to households as they enter homes in search of food. They can climb walls with the help of their webbed feet and reach even higher floors, entering through the open windows."
Yes indeed. Supposedly they have day roosts - this one has chosen the dark and cool corner behind our cabinet. And the call is a rat-a-tat - it has not called as yet... I will keep you posted on this.
Someone called Rivu Ghoral has blogged in his Backyard Herping about this. He wrote - "Previous studies showed that this frog comes out every night to hunt but it returns to the exact place at dawn."
Oh! So that's the pattern - out at night and back at dawn. So, last evening, we left the balcony window wide open, turned off the dining room lights and watched TV in our living room, hoping our amphibian friend would get the hint. And what do you know, we checked after dinner, and the cabinet-den was clear!! We quickly shut the windows, so that dawn entry was blocked, and I am happy to report that we successfully relegated it to the balcony. For today.
It is a very common and abundant frog, I learnt. It lives for 3 years at least (yikes!) and they breed in the monsoon (double yikes!) Is my friend male or female? I have no idea - the genders are similar I believe. It is not calling - so maybe a female? Please wish us luck - they lay 850 eggs at a time I read.
Supposedly, they feed on insects and spiders - and so maybe it will slurp up all the mosquito larvae this monsoon. I need some good news like this.
More news as the story develops. Stay tuned my friends.
