Surrounded by hundreds of coqui frogs close and loud. There's a different kind of neighborhood watch on duty in Puuloa, a small rural subdivision on Hawaii's Big Island.
Wearing headlamps and armed with hand sprayers filled with citric acid, Daniel Montgomery and his neighbors creep through backyards listening for the intruder's distinctive call:
"Ko Keee ... Ko KEEE."
The coqui frog has infested large swaths of the Big Island, with more than 10,000 per acre in the worst-hit areas.
The frogs' high-pitched nighttime mating calls have caused residents many sleepless nights. But a few communities have managed to stay coqui-free, and Montgomery and his two dozen neighbors are determined to keep the coqui at bay.
"It's like a neighborhood coqui watch," Montgomery said. "We all know each other, and we all have a significant stake in our properties. Once you have a coqui on one person's property you can be sure it's going to lay eggs, and soon it will be everyone's issue."
The quarter-sized frog has become an outsize problem for Hawaii.
Originally from Puerto Rico, the coquis that colonized the Big Island are believed to have hitched a ride on some potted plants from Florida in the 1990s.
With no snakes, tarantulas or other natural predators to curb the population, the frogs proliferated, and state officials fear the little gray-brown amphibians will upset Hawaii's delicate ecosystems by devouring insects vital to pollination. Officials also worry the frog could harm export plant sales.
Then there's the sound.
In Puerto Rico, the coqui's call is likened to sweet music and is celebrated in poetry, literature and song. But to the Hawaii Invasive Species Council, a state agency, their vast numbers create a "loud, incessant and annoying call from dusk to dawn." The male frogs chirp at about 90 decibels, roughly as loud as a lawn mower or garbage disposal.
#coquifrog #coquicall #coquisong #frogs #frogcall #frogsound
Wearing headlamps and armed with hand sprayers filled with citric acid, Daniel Montgomery and his neighbors creep through backyards listening for the intruder's distinctive call:
"Ko Keee ... Ko KEEE."
The coqui frog has infested large swaths of the Big Island, with more than 10,000 per acre in the worst-hit areas.
The frogs' high-pitched nighttime mating calls have caused residents many sleepless nights. But a few communities have managed to stay coqui-free, and Montgomery and his two dozen neighbors are determined to keep the coqui at bay.
"It's like a neighborhood coqui watch," Montgomery said. "We all know each other, and we all have a significant stake in our properties. Once you have a coqui on one person's property you can be sure it's going to lay eggs, and soon it will be everyone's issue."
The quarter-sized frog has become an outsize problem for Hawaii.
Originally from Puerto Rico, the coquis that colonized the Big Island are believed to have hitched a ride on some potted plants from Florida in the 1990s.
With no snakes, tarantulas or other natural predators to curb the population, the frogs proliferated, and state officials fear the little gray-brown amphibians will upset Hawaii's delicate ecosystems by devouring insects vital to pollination. Officials also worry the frog could harm export plant sales.
Then there's the sound.
In Puerto Rico, the coqui's call is likened to sweet music and is celebrated in poetry, literature and song. But to the Hawaii Invasive Species Council, a state agency, their vast numbers create a "loud, incessant and annoying call from dusk to dawn." The male frogs chirp at about 90 decibels, roughly as loud as a lawn mower or garbage disposal.
#coquifrog #coquicall #coquisong #frogs #frogcall #frogsound
Coqui Frogs Call/Song - Singing Frogs In Hawaii animals sounds name in english | |
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Travel & Events | Upload TimePublished on 18 Sep 2016 |
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