A blue-black back sprinkled with pale dots and vivid orange patches along its flanks: meet the rare frog
Melanobatrachus indicus
. Native to the southern Western Ghats of India, adults measure a mere 2 to 3.5 centimeters in length. 
These frogs are typically found sheltering beneath rocks and rotting logs in moist evergreen forests. Their striking appearance has made them a prized subject for wildlife photographers, but scouring the area for a photo can easily destroy the fragile microhabitats they depend on. 
In December 2025, the Zoological Society of London shared a concerning observation: at one site where seven frogs were documented in 2020, follow-up surveys failed to locate a single one. Logs had been overturned and surrounding vegetation trampled. Researchers attribute the habitat disturbance to visits by photographers, though they note this does not constitute definitive proof that the animals died or that the species has vanished entirely. 
Disturbed microhabitat at the monitoring site.
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