Dr Fortunate Mafeta Phaka
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Dr Fortunate Mafeta Phaka
@dr-mafeta-phaka.bsky.social
Researcher of herptile-human interactions. Author of Bilingual Guide to the Frogs of Zululand. Wildlife TV Producer. Multiple awards for inclusive science.
Find yourself someone who thinks about you the way I think about frogs.
BTS of latest shoot with @southafricaconventions

#MeetInSouthAfrica #FindYourJoyInSouthAfrica
December 7, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Tried putting one of my problems behind me, and it smiled.
Small dogs are such loveable menaces.
December 7, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Me: Look, a Green Drab Moth.
My 7yr old: But it’s not green.
Me: I can’t wait for you to start learning bird names.
November 17, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Unlike their non-avian reptile relatives, birds are show-offs and people are fascinated by their horn dog behaviour (AKA mating displays).
October 12, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Female Raucous Toad on the move.
🐸 #frogs #Herpetology #AfricanWildlife
September 20, 2025 at 7:12 PM
South Africa’s 1st ever multilingual frog posters are now available for free download. Showcasing the 🐸 diversity of each of the 9 provinces in 11 official languages.

www.wildvernac.org/wildlife-in-...

#AfricanWildlife #Frogs #Herpetology #SciComm
September 19, 2025 at 7:18 AM
Repurposing colleague’s work space while he attends a conference. South Africa’s 1st ever multilingual 🐸 posters are getting ready to be delivered to schools.
September 17, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Same Same. Me from the Earth realm and me from the @scisuperheroes.bsky.social realm both hate pineapple and never worry about fitting in.
August 21, 2025 at 7:09 PM
The frog I usually hear but rarely see in the field, and it always turns up in my living room during the rainy season.

🐸🪪 Common Caco,
Cacosternum boettgeri.

#Herpetology #Frogs #AfricanWildlife #Amphibians
August 19, 2025 at 6:50 PM
The Red Toad, not always red, sometimes ashy grey. Thrives in residential areas unbothered by the severely altered habitat and taking advantage of the new microhabitats created by people’s homemaking.

#UrbanWildlife #Frogs #Herpetology #AfricanWildlife #SouthAfrica 🐸🌍
August 14, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Greater Leaf-folding Frog, the larger among KwaZulu-Natal’s Leaf-folding Frogs.

#ShotOnCanon #AfricanWildlife #Herpetology #Frogs #Amphibians
August 13, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Nonchalant in 🐸 form.

🪪 Leptopelis natalensis, Natal Tree Frog.

#amphibian #herpetology #AfricanWildlife #herping #FrogsOfSouthAfrica #Frogs #ShotOnCanon
August 10, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Nonchalant in 🐸 form.

🪪 Leptopelis mossambicus, Brown-backed Tree Frog.

#amphibian #herpetology #AfricanWildlife #herping #LimpopoProvince #Frogs
August 8, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Nonchalant in 🐸 form.

🪪 Leptopelis natalensis, Natal Tree Frog.

#amphibian #herpetology #AfricanWildlife #herping
August 7, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Nictitating membranes are fancy structures that protect and moisten the eye. This African Bullfrog takes fancy to a new level by lining its nictitating membrane with a bit of gold.

🐸 #AfricanWildlife #Amphibians #Frogs #AfricanWildlife #Limpopo #Herpetology
August 5, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Eye level photos of frogs are not always a good idea.

#WildlifePhotography #ShotOnCanon #Herpetology #Frogs #Amphibians 🐸
August 2, 2025 at 7:38 AM
🐸🪪Bubbling Kassina,
Kassina senegalensis.

#LimpopoProvince #Amphibians #Frogs #Herpetology #AfricanWildlife #ShotOnCanon
July 28, 2025 at 6:09 PM
A ver calm Spotted Bush Snake to end off #SnakeWeek 🐍

#AfricanWildlife #Snakes #Herpetology
July 20, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Did that River Frog just wink at me?
🐸 #Amphibians #Frog #Herpetology
July 18, 2025 at 8:20 PM
🪪🐸 Greater Leaf-folding Frog,
Afrixalus fornasini.

#KwaZulu-Natal #Frogs #Amphibians #Herpetology #AfricanWildlife #Amphibians #shotoncanon
July 17, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Performance anxiety issues when a mosquito on the nostril and a nosy herpetologist are too much for this Bubbling Kassina to keep calling to attract mates.

🐸 #Frogs #Amphibians #Herpetology #HerpingSouthAfrica
#AfricanWildlife #ShotOnIphone
July 14, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Full article: Naming South African frogs and reptiles in nine Indigenous languages

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

#Herpetology #OpenAccess #IndigenousLanguages
July 4, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Post a bug that looks like AI but is actually real.

This is a Lorenzo Red-tab Policeman caterpillar, one of the rare Skipper Butterflies.

#Lepidoptera #Invertebrates
June 18, 2025 at 9:31 PM
A pig among frogs. Mottled shovel-nosed or pig-nosed frog’s pointy face and hard snout are great for their burrowing lifestyle.

🐸🪪Hemisus marmoratus

#herpetology #amphibians #AfricanWildlife #ShotOnCanon #Frogs
June 18, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Used my thickest light diffuser to show the Natal Tree Frog’s beautiful eyes without glare. Surprising result was capturing the reflection of the flash’s light as it triggered at a relatively slow shutter speed.

🐸🪪 Leptopelis natalensis
#HerpingAfrica #Amphibians #Herpetology #Frogsoftheworld
June 16, 2025 at 4:53 PM