Studying Frog Calls in Sarawak Totally Protected Areas

Kalophrynus heterochirus, the Variable Sticky Frog,
is making calls to lure the female, which is not far away.

I spent a week at Kubah National Park last month, recording frog calls and figuring out which species were calling during the dry season. The Frog Pond was almost completely dried up, with only a small pool left in the centre. Even so, we still managed to record some great frog calls, especially when the weather turned cloudy with a bit of rain or after a heavy afternoon downpour.

This was my first time recording frog calls, and honestly, it was much more complicated than I expected. Whether I got a recording really depended on the frog. Some frogs are extremely shy or simply don’t like people. These ones drove me crazy because as soon as I got close, they would go silent until I left. Others didn’t care at all that I was there. They just kept singing until a female showed up, and then, once their job was done, they hopped off together.

I used a portable recorder consisting of the Zoom F3 Field Recorder and the Sennheiser MKE 600 microphone. My ornithologist friend, Dr. Alison Styring, suggested this setup. Back in 2006-2007, I joined her for a dawn chorus recording using a Marantz recorder, but that model is no longer available in Malaysia. Honestly, I don’t have much experience with audio recording, and I’m still new to studying frog calls.

Ten species of frog and toad calls were recorded out of 18 species that were observed in different trails, streams and ponds that we surveyed. These ten species are the ones that are actively making calls during the duration of our trip. It is known that frogs produce calls for mating purposes, and only males are active in making these calls. Some species are very shy and secretive, which makes it challenging to locate them while making calls. Of course, they are also very good at camouflage and hide well in silence.  

We wrapped up our trip after six nights of surveys. I wasn’t completely satisfied because on the last night, I had trouble with the recorder connector. I felt relieved when I checked and saw that I still managed to record the call of the Tree Hole Narrow-mouthed Frog, even if it wasn’t the best version I had hoped for.

Taking this opportunity to thank Prof. Dr Indraniel Das from IBEC, UNIMAS and his PhD student, Izneil, for teaching us the standard protocols for frog bioacoustic study. As well as my team members, Akas Bit and Broddy Mien, Kubah NP and Matang WC staff for making this fieldwork possible. Thanks so much, team!

All the photos were taken with a Huawei Mate 10 Pro. It’s not a high-end mobile phone, but it does the job well enough.

Journey Along the Katibas River - Part 1

Boat express from Sibu town to Song which depart at 6.15am and reach Song at 8.15am.

It was a follow-up trip to the long houses along the Katibas River which is regarding the labours appointment to join us in our orangutan nest survey last June. Actually i only assist the officer from the Forest Department but as usual, i am excited because this is my first time going upper Katibas River.

My excited face on the boat just before we start our journey.

We already plan to overnight at the last longhouse which is Rh. Sapai and TR Sapai himself is our boatman for this trip. Our journey will took us more than six hours because we will be stopped at a few longhouses to deliver the letters and meet up with the locals. Somehow, the weather is not as good as we hope it will be. After our second stop, the rain was too heavy and we must reach Rh Sapai before its dark. So, we decide to skip the other four longhouses and continue it the next day on our way down to Song town.

The mouth of Katibas River

The water level is just nice so we don't have to pass the shallow water with rocky rocks in this super cool river. I imagine of the strong current but since the water level is quite high, so the current is just mild. 

Our boatman, TR Sapai. The fuel is cost about RM500 for one way trip. 

Our boatman is very experienced and skillful person and he knows all the safe route to escape the big rocks in this river. I salute him for i feel safe along the way but somehow, he was drunk on the next day after a few stops at the longhouses. Only then i start to feel scared. Ha ha ha..

The flowers of Ensurai tree (Dipterocarpus sp.) is food source of aquatic life in this river.

It was a great experienced, even though it took us six hours to reach TR Sapai's longhouse and bad weather on the first day but i amazed by the beautiful scene along the river banks especially after the second last longhouse. It was amazing to have a chance to see the flowering Ensurai trees (Dipterocarpus sp.) along the rivers and knowing that the food source of the aquatic life especially the fishes is abundant and available. 

Finally, in the end, this will be one of the experience that i will appreciate as much as other trips that i have made while exploring the Rainforest of Borneo. I am grateful to God for this great opportunity and i am still safe and sound. 

---

Grateful Heart, 

Rose Ragai