‘The Forest Is My Home’: She Braved Rain, Leeches & Dark Nights To Check 3000+ Frogs for a Deadly Disease

After sunset, Keerthi followed frog calls through streams, rainforests, evergreen forests and shola grasslands. She carried a torch, sampling kits and notebooks. Her goal was to learn whether chytrid fungus had reached new parts of the Western Ghats and where it was already present.

For each frog, she recorded details, gently took a swab from its skin and released it. The swab provided material that could be tested for the fungus. This method allowed researchers to investigate infection without killing or seriously disturbing the animals. Frogs were especially suitable for night surveys because they were active and calling after dark.

The work was demanding. Keerthi crossed slippery rocks and swollen streams, dealt with leeches and unpredictable rain, and sometimes walked for hours. Over several years, she surveyed 49 protected areas and 19 other landscapes. Her findings supported future monitoring of this serious amphibian disease.

Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease of frogs and other amphibians. Its cause is a fungus named Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, usually shortened to chytrid fungus. The disease matters because amphibian skin has essential functions, rather than serving only as an outer covering.

The fungus attacks that skin. Frogs rely on their skin to absorb water and breathe, so a serious infection can disrupt vital processes. In some frogs, the infection becomes fatal. Researchers therefore collect skin swabs and test them for evidence of the fungus, while keeping the animals alive.

The article reports that chytrid fungus has caused the extinction of nearly 200 frog species globally and threatens almost 40 percent of amphibian species. In India, the disease was first recorded in 2011. Monitoring the Western Ghats helps scientists understand its distribution and watch for new locations.

Keerthi’s survey covered a remarkably broad area of the Western Ghats. She examined 49 protected areas and 19 other landscapes. Across these locations, she documented more than 3,000 amphibians. The survey was designed to reveal the fungus’s distribution rather than simply record frogs in one forest.

She worked at night, when frogs were active and their calls could guide her. For each animal, she took a skin swab, recorded details and released it unharmed. Testing those samples allowed scientists to look for chytrid fungus across many habitats, including rainforests, evergreen forests, shola grasslands and streams.

This large geographic and animal sample gave researchers a stronger basis for identifying affected places. It also created information useful for future checks. Because the fungus had first been recorded in India in 2011, repeated surveys could show whether it appeared in additional locations over time.

A tiny skin swab can sample the frog’s outer skin while leaving the animal alive. This matters because chytrid fungus attacks amphibian skin, making that surface the place where researchers look for evidence of infection. The method supports conservation research without sacrificing the animals being studied.

Keerthi carefully swabbed each frog, recorded its details and released it unharmed. The collected swab could then be tested for fungus in a laboratory. In simple terms, the swab carries material from the frog’s skin to a test, where researchers can determine whether chytrid fungus is present. The article does not describe the laboratory test itself.

This approach made large surveys possible. Keerthi documented more than 3,000 amphibians across 49 protected areas and 19 other landscapes. Because frogs could be returned to the wild, scientists could monitor populations repeatedly and compare results across forests and over time.

A wider spread of chytrid fungus could seriously reduce frog and other amphibian populations in the Western Ghats. The region contains more than 200 frog species, many found nowhere else. That makes disease spread especially concerning because losses could affect species with very limited ranges.

The fungus attacks skin that frogs use to absorb water and breathe. In some frogs, serious infection is fatal. The article reports that chytridiomycosis has caused the extinction of nearly 200 frog species globally and threatens almost 40 percent of amphibian species. These figures show why researchers are looking for the fungus before its presence becomes harder to control or understand.

India has not experienced the mass frog deaths reported elsewhere, but the fungus has been detected in several Indian species. Continued monitoring can show whether it reaches new forests. It can also help scientists understand disease patterns and protect the Western Ghats’ amphibian diversity.

Scientists needed long-term monitoring because chytrid fungus can appear in different places at different times. India recorded the disease for the first time in 2011, and researchers needed to know which forests harboured it and whether it was spreading. A single visit would provide only a snapshot.

Repeated surveys make comparisons possible. Keerthi searched for frogs at night, recorded each animal, collected a skin swab and released it. Using the same basic, non-harmful approach across sites gives researchers comparable information about fungus presence. It also allows them to revisit locations and check for changes.

This continued work matters because the Western Ghats contain many frog species, including species found nowhere else. India had not seen the mass frog deaths reported elsewhere, but the fungus was already present in several species. Long-term monitoring could identify new locations and guide future conservation responses.

Frogs are called ecological indicators because changes in their health can point to wider problems in an ecosystem. Their decline is not treated as an isolated event. It can signal that researchers need to investigate conditions affecting the forest, streams or other parts of the environment. Keerthi described this idea directly in 2015.

Her surveys focused on chytrid fungus, which attacks frog skin. Since frogs depend on their skin to absorb water and breathe, infection can cause serious illness or death. Finding infected frogs, or noticing fewer frogs, gives scientists an early warning that something may be wrong and deserves closer study.

This role makes frog monitoring important in the Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot with more than 200 frog species. Keerthi’s work established information about fungus presence across many landscapes. Continued checks could reveal new changes and help scientists respond before losses become more severe.