Amphibians Sexual escapades of frogs

It is the beginning of the rainy season at the Montagne de Kaw, and it is raining non-stop. A uniformly grey sky is dropping vast quantities of water over the forest, seeping right through to the heart of the plant mass. The branches of the trees are bowed down with the weight and sometimes even snap. The long-awaited moment is finally here: the forest ponds, which had dried up, can now come back to life. The excitement is at fever pitch amongst the frogs, but they are not the only ones: their predators are also getting ready. The nights, which had been calm until now, have become a theatre of bustling activity once more. These sites only fill up with water periodically and boast the advantage of not containing any fish, which is already one predator less! The gathering – also called explosive breeding although frequently referred to as "frog orgies" – is of very brief duration: one night and part of either one evening or morning. This allows them to stay one step ahead of the predators, although not all of them will be fooled… Noisy encounters The first detectable sign of this phenomenon is the noise. Thousands of males sing in a tremendous din,  so loud that it can even damage the human ear – and Lord knows how many humans there are (sometimes too many for the good of the frogs). Amateur naturalists and expert herpetologists* delight in this outstanding performance: some for the pleasure of observing them, others to collect data. To perfor......