insidesumatera.com | tourism & lifestyle magazine

It is well known that amphibians inhabit two different worlds. These worlds are rich with natural barriers so that natural isolation often occurs. These barriers can be rivers, mountains, straits, lakes, fields and others. In Sumatera, this is a common occurrence as there is a large number of endemic animals. The amphibian is the vertebrate hardest hit by isolation as amphibians aren't as mobile as horses which can run fast or birds can migrate north or south.
Take frogs for example. This group can only make short leaps, some only crawl. Due to their thin skin, these four-legged creatures can’t live in areas with low humidity so that they have low tolerance for changing environments. Everything is related to endemic opportunities.
The typology of Sumatera’s nature has the potential to create variety, including a variety of ethnicity in humans. In the Batak areas, natural isolation created 5 different ethnic sub-groups. These 5 ethnic sub-groups can be said to not even be able to interact comfortably because they have all created their own Batak dialects. They are as different as one person speaking Japanese and another in Arabic. They just can’t understand one another.
There are untold riches behind isolation, the paradox being that the increasing ease of global communications has led to a decrease of language and cultural variation. The problem is increasing daily. Fortunately there are a few people who act as saviours for there own ethnic groups. But for now, let’s return to the topic of frogs.
Kongkang Jeram Sumatera, this is the official name of this frog, also known as the Sumateran torrent frog. It is a unique frog. The Sumateran Torrent Frog is one of 4 kinds of frog from the huia genus found on this planet. Meanwhile, the huia is a member of the 7 genus of Ranidae found in Indonesia. The Ranidae family are known as true frogs, according to scientific classification. In Sumatera the Ranidae family is represented by three genus, the Huia, Meristogenys and Rana. Their survival is reliant on the still remaining rainforest in Sumatera.
Living a vagrant lifestyle, this long legged frog is spread out randomly, near flowing, clear, stony waters. Its larvae are somewhat unique for frog larvae as they need strong flowing water to survive.
The peak of the breeding period is full moon. Its nomadic lifestyle becomes very apparent at this stage. The male is generally smaller than the female. The males sometimes become prey for small spiders, which could be interpreted as an upside down food chain.
Herpetologists have found out that these frogs can be found all over Sumatera: in Aceh, North Sumatera, West Sumatera, Jambi,South Sumatera, Bengkulu and Lampung. The frog is unable to cross the sea to Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, Java and the Maldives due to the sea borders.
Isn’t Sumatera rich? Many will ask, “What is the point of this useless creature living in the jungle and surviving on this planet?” Well, as the highest evolved speices, humans, the smartest primate which acts as a decision-maker, should be able to answer that easily.
Akhmad Junaedi Siregar, Turtle Project Team, Wildlife Conservation
Society-Indonesia Program (