Guard Taiwan's Amphibians with Passion and Specialty

用熱忱與專業守護台灣的兩棲類動物—李承恩老師

After we had the rare experience of the nocturnal observation, our teacher encouraged us to share this activity with our classmates. So, during the class time, we took the stage to report and introduce what we did and learned from the activity.

Our classmates warmly welcomed me to the stage with applause, showing their curiosity about frogs. I projected the photos of the activity on the screen and explained the process of that day: the initial gathering, listening to Teacher Cheng-En Li's introduction of the survey and recording methods of amphibians, and the observations along the trail later.

I explained that Zhishan Yan is a low-altitude broad-leaved forest, and the Central Formosan toads we found that day were all near the water pools to my classmates. I also explained how to distinguish the gender of adult amphibians. Male frogs and toads can make calls. Typically, male amphibians are smaller than females. During amplexus, it's the male frog that embraces the female frog with its forelimbs, so if you see two frogs or toads stacked together, the one on top is usually the male.

During the presentation, my classmates were full of curiosity about amphibians and would actively raise many questions. If there were any questions I couldn't answer, the teacher would assist with explanations. Because everyone was so interested in nocturnal observation, I reminded them to always bring a flashlight when going out at night, or else they wouldn't be able to see the path clearly. Additionally, when finishing observing frogs, it's important to return them to where they were found. After I finished sharing, my classmates gave me a really big hand. We hoped that by sharing our experience, we could help everyone understand our surrounding environment better, encouraging them to get closer to nature and care about the creatures around us.

Explaining the research method

There were Central Formosan toads near the pond

Taking pictures

Male was on the top