So far, my treks in the Periyar Tiger Reserve have yielded a generally consistent array of wildlife sightings. Insects and spiders are a constant, birds of some sort or other are common, boar and gaur are to be expected, deer are a pleasant (but not huge) surprise. Elephants are not uncommon to see, but don’t stand around modelling for pictures, and are usually sighted from a great distance. Tigers are out of the question to see, except for the extremely fortunate. Of course, this leaves out dozens of categories of creatures, and hundreds (possibly thousands) of species. Amphibians are a pretty constant sighting, mainly in the form of frogs and toads. To be honest, I don’t really know the difference, but I do have a definite ID on one species: the Common Indian Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus).

Another species is the most common I’ve seen – I’m pretty sure it’s a frog, but I haven’t gotten a positive ID. During the season, legions of them migrate, across roads and fields, and trekkers have to watch where they walk to avoid crushing upon the thousands of hopping amphibians underfoot.

A few weeks ago, in Gavi, I saw two species new to me.  Firstly, walking through what is known as elephant grass on the mountain, I spotted a squat, nondescript toad hopping to get out of the sun. It wasn’t the most beautiful or graceful of creatures, but I refuse to mock it. I won’t be mad if you do, though.

The grand finale is indeed grand; as I was cooling my feet off in a shallow pond fed by a waterfall, I noticed several rather enormous black figures lurking on the sand underwater. Upon closer inspection, I was flabbergasted, as I’m sure you will be.