Unraveling the sounds of the night

By Umar Fhadli Kennedi (Team: Pematang Gadung Apes, Indonesia)

Have you ever felt curious about the sounds you hear in the forest? I often felt this way whenever I heard this sound (attached audio). For a long time, I frequently heard it while staying at Camp Serumput in the Gunung Tarak Protected Forest. The sound usually appears after rain at night, quite loud, and not far from Camp Serumput—usually near the water puddles. There were many debates among us about what it was: some believed it came from a frog, others said it was a bird, and strangely, some even claimed it was a snail.

One night after heavy rain, the calls echoed back and forth. Driven by our curiosity, armed with a headlamp, camera, and an active recorder, we decided to search for the source. The closer we got, the clearer the sound became, but the animal itself remained invisible. We tried standing still at a spot where the sound was loudest. Once we were convinced the sound was coming from inside a hole, we slowly dug into it, making sure not to disturb or scare away whatever was inside. Finally, a frog appeared in the hole. To confirm it was indeed the one calling, we stopped moving, turned off our headlamps, and stayed silent. Not long after, the frog called again confirming that this was the sound we had been looking for.

Our curiosity was finally answered that night. Happily, we ended the search by taking a few photos and audio recordings. Here we share the Rough-sided Frog (Pulchrana baramica) from the Gunung Tarak Protected Forest.