Photo: Rare blue frog photographed in Dordogne

A French wildlife photographer drove 1,500km to take a picture of a rare blue Mediterranean tree frog on a vineyard in Dordogne. 

Frank Deschandol, who is based in Le Havre (Normandy), often uses a macro camera lens to take extremely detailed, close-up pictures. He is particularly drawn to colourful, striking animals and insects, with many becoming the focal point of his work.

“I have always loved the color blue,” he told The Connexion, “and what makes it even more fascinating is how rare it is in nature.” 

Photographing the exceptionally rare blue tree frog had been on Mr Deschandol’s bucket list for 20 years, and on February 25, his dream became a reality.

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From Normandy to Nouvelle-Aquitaine

He first came across a picture of the special creature on Instagram, posted last October by Gilles Detilleux, a winemaker at the Domaine de la Tuque. 

The frog had disappeared by the time Mr Deschandol contacted the winemaker, but at the end of February it was back again. 

Upon receiving the news, Mr Deschandol drove an entire day “without hesitation” from Le Havre in the north of France, to the commune of Biron in the south-west, hoping to snap a photo of the animal.

“In total, I traveled 1,500km for this moment but I have absolutely no regrets. I would have driven twice or even three times that distance if necessary. It was an extraordinary experience. When you’ve been searching for an animal for so long, finally being able to observe and capture it on photo is an indescribable joy. That frog was a true marvel.” 

No yellow pigment

Tree frogs are normally green in colour due to the presence of both yellow and blue pigments in their skin. However, sometimes the yellow pigment is absent due to a genetic anomaly, and so the frog appears entirely blue. 

Mr Deschandol explained that this rare condition is known as axanthism and is estimated to impact one in 10,000 frogs.

“After traveling across Europe to photograph various species of reptiles and amphibians, discovering this unique creature in France felt like an unexpected reward,” he said.

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Other blue species 

Mr Deschandol mainly works in tropical regions of the world, where wild and wonderful creatures are in abundance. 

“In these areas, encountering rare or even undiscovered species is not uncommon,” he said. 

“I traveled to Komodo Island in Indonesia to photograph a blue Pit viper, though in this case, its coloration was not the result of a genetic anomaly. 

That said, I still take great pleasure in finding and photographing extraordinary animals in France and across Europe.”