A sound discovery

T himalayanus or Orange warted salamander. Pic courtesy/The Film-Makers

Wildlife filmmaker duo Ajay and Vijay Bedi have been trying to highlight the lesser-known species of India for nearly a decade now, and with their film, The Secret Life of Frogs (2019), the brothers have made quite a buzz in the research and conservation circles. While editing it, the Bedis realised that one of the amphibian species - T himalayanus or Orange warted salamander, a rare salamander variant found in Darjeeling, West Bengal - that had been known to be silent - can vocalise. The discovery has now been published in a peer-reviewed scientific paper in Salamandara - German Journal of Herpetology.

Ajay and Vijay Bedi

The brothers share that while over 400 species of amphibians exist in India, there are only two salamander species. While shooting, the duo contacted Kolkata-based researcher Sarbani Nag, secretary, WISH Foundation, who suggested they try to capture the salamander's breeding behaviour, which is a rare sight. "When we were editing the film in Delhi, Ajay noticed that the salamander was making a ‘ptaaak' sound, and we were blown away," Vijay reveals. When they then reached out to Nag, she was surprised to learn about their discovery, despite studying the creature for six years.

Sarbani Nag

Since then, it took them two years to publish the paper, coming a long way from their childhood days when they were "bad in studies", jokes Vijay. Ajay notes that this is a rare instance of filmmakers authoring a research paper. "Our conservation policies are mostly focused on the mega fauna of India; we wanted to bring the focus on these lesser-known species," he adds. Nag points out that the footage and the paper will hopefully pave the way for better conservation practices. "The evidence can be used to spread awareness that the noise caused by humans may be interfering with the salamanders' call, which is very feeble; it might affect their breeding, and in turn hamper proliferation," she elaborates.