Celebrating the frog

A first-of-its-kind exhibition, FrogFest, is being held at Delhi's World Wildlife Fund (WWF) office to "build awareness on the need for

conservation of these species and highlight their role in the natural world".

Inaugurated on January 15 and to continue till April 30, the exhibition includes the personal collection of over 350 artefacts from 40 countries. The collection belongs to Seema Bhatt, an independent consultant working on issues related to climate change, biodiversity and ecotourism in Asia, besides a rendering of frogs in folk and contemporary art by young artists.

On display are keyrings, statues, tribal paintings, locks and boxes. Quizzes, games, workshops, films and ecotrails are also part of the exhibition.

Frogs are important indicators of the health of their environments as they are extremely sensitive to changes in air and water quality, to moisture levels and to temperature. When amphibians show decline in the wild, it serves as a warning to other species, including humans.

"Research on frogs has not happened as much in

the past. But now it has picked up pace. We have discovered a number of new species in India, including the India Purple Frog, and the Nyctibatrchus minimus, which is a mere 10 mm in length," says Payal Narain, senior manager, environment education, WWF-India.