Coqui frogs win battle for Hawaii island
Coqui frog
CTY Coqui drench 3 - Puna resident Clive Cheetham drenched a lime and water mixture under tall grass and trees in the Koae area south of Hilo recently, killing coqui frogs. An old fire hose donated by thecounty Fire department carried the lime mix from a 1,000-gallon tank. Star-Bulletin photo by Rod Thompson. 2003 Mar. 11.
HILO >> State funding to control small, noisy frogs on the Big Island is drying up as researchers are now resigned to focusing on preventing them from spreading to other Hawaiian islands.
The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Sunday that researchers say the coqui frogs have proven difficult to remove from the Big Island. Researchers say the invasive species are spreading to new areas of the island, but their population numbers seem to be leveling off and dipping slightly in areas they have thrived.
Arnold Hara of the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resource says the Big Island is fairly well-infested with coqui and that eradication is pretty much impossible.
The coqui is beloved in its native Puerto Rico, but residents here have complained about its shrieking mating calls.
