Amphibians occupy a complex place in cultures around the world. Throughout history, these vibrant, shape-shifting creatures of land and water have been met with both wonder and hostility.
In the first part of this new series Amphibians and Culture, Senior Programme Officer Pria Ghosh discusses how European societies constructed negative views of amphibians through storytelling—and how shifting those narratives is central to more effective conservation in the future.
Amphibians inhabit the boundaries of worlds, crossing between environments and radically transforming between life stages in a way that has fascinated humanity for generations.
They come in all shapes and sizes, boast a stunning array of colours, and live everywhere from the desert to the rainforest. The touch of some could kill you in an instant; others are teaching us new ways to heal ourselves. Their presence signals changing weather patterns, and therefore announces times of prosperity, but also the onset of storms and floods. Their name, amphibians, literally means ‘dual life’.
It’s perhaps not surprising that people all over the world have developed a vast range of relationships, folklore, and cultural traditions surrounding these creatures of land and water.