The Kerala Forest Department is preparing to launch a comprehensive four-day survey of amphibians and reptiles across the Munnar Wildlife Division, spanning four national parks and a sanctuary in the high-range regions of Idukki district. The assessment, scheduled from September 3 to 6, will examine biodiversity across Eravikulam National Park, Anamudi Shola National Park, Pambadum Shola National Park, Mathikettan Shola National Park, and Kurinjimala Sanctuary.
Wildlife officials anticipate that the survey will generate updated baseline data on the distribution, diversity, and population status of amphibian and reptile species across these protected areas, which form part of the Western Ghats, a mountain range recognized internationally as one of the world’s eight hottest biodiversity hotspots.
What the Survey Will Examine
The Kerala Forest Department has designed the assessment to document the full range of amphibian and reptile species present within the surveyed protected areas. Forest officials expect the four-day exercise to produce comprehensive records of both common and potentially new or lesser-known species across the division.
The survey will systematically assess multiple habitat types within each protected area, from stream courses and marshy grasslands to montane shola forests, targeting the microhabitats where amphibian and reptile species are most likely to occur. Survey teams will conduct visual encounter surveys, search appropriate breeding sites, and record observations across transect lines established within each park and sanctuary.
The Western Ghats, a 1,600-kilometer mountain chain running along India’s western coast, contains an extraordinary concentration of endemic species. The areas surrounding Munnar in Idukki district represent some of the most ecologically significant portions of this mountain range, supporting species found nowhere else on Earth.
Why This Survey Matters
Amphibians and reptiles serve as critical indicators of ecosystem health, making biodiversity assessments in protected areas particularly valuable for conservation planning. Amphibians, with their permeable skin and dependence on moisture, respond rapidly to environmental changes including pollution, habitat fragmentation, and climate shifts. Reptiles, while more resilient in some respects, face distinct pressures from habitat loss and altered ecological conditions.
The Western Ghats has recorded more than 200 amphibian species, with estimates suggesting that approximately 80 percent of these are endemic, meaning they occur naturally nowhere else in the world. The region has also documented over 180 reptile species, with significant endemism among frogs, lizards, and snakes.
Many of these species remain poorly understood scientifically, with distribution patterns, population trends, and basic ecological requirements still being documented. Baseline surveys such as this one provide essential reference data against which future changes can be measured, enabling researchers and managers to identify populations in decline or species facing elevated extinction risk.
The survey comes at a time when global amphibian populations face what scientists have described as a silent extinction crisis. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed approximately 41 percent of amphibian species worldwide as threatened with extinction, with habitat loss, disease, pollution, and climate change serving as primary drivers of decline.
Background and Context
The Munnar Wildlife Division encompasses some of the most ecologically significant terrain in Kerala, ranging from rolling grasslands at lower elevations to shola forest fragments nestled in valley bottoms at higher altitudes. This varied topography creates diverse microclimates and habitat conditions that support an extraordinary variety of plant and animal life.
Eravikulam National Park, the largest of the four parks included in the survey, covers approximately 97 square kilometers and is renowned for its population of Nilgiri tahr, an endangered mountain goat. However, the park’s ecological significance extends well beyond this flagship species, encompassing complete watersheds, montane grasslands, and shola forest ecosystems that support numerous amphibian and reptile species.
The three smaller shola national parks—Anamudi Shola, Pambadum Shola, and Mathikettan Shola—represent fragments of the original shola forest ecosystem that once covered the higher elevations of the Western Ghats. These isolated forest patches, surrounded by grasslands that were historically maintained by fire and grazing, now serve as critical refugia for species adapted to cooler, moister conditions.
Kurinjimala Sanctuary, established specifically to protect the habitat of the endangered Neelakurinji flower, which blooms once every 12 years, encompasses additional high-elevation terrain with its own complement of specialized species.
The Western Ghats received UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2012, recognizing its outstanding universal value as a biodiversity hotspot. The declaration acknowledged the region’s role as home to more than 7,400 species of flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species, 179 reptile species, and 227 amphibian species, with very high levels of endemism across all groups.
Despite their protected status, the Western Ghats face ongoing pressures from development activities, tourism, climate change, and invasive species. Systematic biodiversity monitoring helps conservation managers understand how species populations are responding to these pressures and where intervention may be needed.
What to Watch Next
The survey results are expected to provide updated baseline data that will inform future conservation planning within the Munnar Wildlife Division. Forest Department officials will compile species records, distribution data, and population observations into a comprehensive assessment document.
Researchers and conservation organizations will be watching particularly for any new species records, range extensions of known species, or observations of species that have not been documented in these areas previously. Any records of species currently classified as threatened or endangered under Indian wildlife protection laws would carry particular conservation significance.
The data gathered during the survey will also contribute to broader efforts to understand amphibian and reptile diversity across the Western Ghats landscape. Comparable surveys in other divisions and protected areas help build a more complete picture of biodiversity distribution across the hotspot, enabling identification of areas of particular conservation importance.
Longer-term implications include potential updates to species recovery plans, revision of protected area management strategies, and identification of corridors or connectivity needs between protected areas that would benefit amphibian and reptile populations.
Conclusion
The four-day amphibian and reptile survey beginning September 3 represents a systematic effort to document biodiversity in one of India’s most ecologically significant regions. For a biodiversity hotspot as globally important as the Western Ghats, baseline biodiversity data remains essential for effective conservation planning and management.
The survey results will provide the Kerala Forest Department with current information on the status of amphibian and reptile populations across five protected areas in the Munnar Wildlife Division. As global biodiversity continues to face unprecedented pressures from habitat loss and climate change, systematic monitoring efforts such as this one offer critical windows into ecosystem health and early warning of population declines that might otherwise proceed undetected.
Conservation biologists and wildlife managers will await the survey findings with interest, particularly regarding any documentation of species of conservation concern or new records for the region. The data compiled during this assessment will serve as a reference point for future monitoring efforts and contribute to the broader understanding of Western Ghats biodiversity that informs conservation decisions across the landscape.
Sources
The Hindu: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/amphibian-and-reptile-survey-in-munnar-wildlife-division-from-september-3-to-6/article71415420.ece
Source: The Hindu – National
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Story synopsis gathered from: The Hindu – National — source
