Hawaii ’s Big Island is overrun with a very tiny — and very gaudy — frog . Native to Puerto Rico , thecoquífrog is about the sizing of a fourth . It compensates for its diminutive sizewith its incessant cry : the strident , luxuriously - pitch " Ko Keee … Ko KEEE ” from which it derives its name .
While the frog is beloved in its homeland , Hawaiians experience a tad other than , according toThe Washington Post . The coquí is n’t native to the Big Island — scientists think it arrived via some pot plant sometime in the 1980s — and their evening mating calls canreach up to 90 decibels . Not only are coquís as trashy as a lawnmower , they ’re also incessant . Their din go from dusk to daybreak , disturbing locals at dark .
Complicating matters , the coquí has no innate vulture in Hawaii , and it ’s thrived in its new environment , thanks to a plentiful bug universe and a bouldered home ground full of concealing lieu . It skips the tadpole stage , so it does n’t require ponds . As a solvent , the Big Island ’s coquí universe is now three times greater than it is in Puerto Rico . ( According to one study [ PDF ] , there are 91,000 frogs per 2.5 acres ; other account vary , saying there could be more than10,000 frogs per acreor between20,000 and 50,000 per Accho . )
Essentially , the coquí is like to a bunch of raucous company - departer who were n’t invited over , but showed up anyway — and now they wo n’t go home . Even more troubling : officials worry that the coquí will harm the local ecosystem by consuming pollinating insects , or hurt exportation plant gross revenue , theLos Angeles Timesreports .
course , Hawaiians are fed up — and they ’re taking matters into their own hands . neighbourhood take in groups hunt for coquí at nighttime ( they ’re silent during daytime ) , and stamp out them by entrap them in a Ziploc bag and freezing them , according to thePost . TheLA Timesreports that some individuals douse coquí habitats with citric acid spray , spray vegetation with hot water , or relegate peak to freezers for a few days to get rid of the animals .
The Wall Street Journalwritesthat Hawaii ’s Big Island had declared a coquí “ state of emergency ” by the mid-2000s . However , task force have since report that they ’re resigned to the fact that the coquí is here to stay . It ’s impossible to eradicate — so officials have switched gear , and are now pore on containment .
Meanwhile , some animal advocates have set up frog sanctuaries and nature conserve for the coquí . Others test to catch the pesky amphibious aircraft and ship them back to Puerto Rico . Many are simply becoming acclimate to the batrachian ’s boom . For the time being , it looks like the coquí is n’t going anywhere — so Big Island residents might want to stock up on earplug .
[ h / tWashington Post , Los Angeles Times , Wall Street Journal ]
