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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, December 16, 2002

Tree frog backers sound off

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Science Writer

Government teams are digging up vegetation and spraying acid to control the noisy coqui tree frogs on the Big Island, but a pro-frog organization says that the battle is already lost.

The coqui frog is named after its call of "ko-KEE, ko-KEE." Many in Hawai'i find the chirp annoying, but one group is promoting appreciation of the creatures.

Associated Press library photo

"We're just trying to figure out how to control the frog," said Lyle Wong, adminstrator of the plant industry division at the state Department of Agriculture.

"They're here to stay. People need to get to the stage of acceptance," said Sid Singer, who heads the Coqui Hawaiian Integration and Reeducation Project.

Singer criticized a program under way at Puna's Lava Tree State Park, where non-native vegetation is being removed and teams are spraying citric acid to kill the frogs.

"The park is totally trashed. It looks like it's been nuked," Singer said.

State officials say they plan to replace alien vegetation with native species, which they hope will be less attractive to the frogs. The work is being done collaboratively with the help of state prison inmates, the state Department of Agriculture, state Division of Forestry, State Parks, U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, the County of Hawai'i and the University of Hawai'i.

Learn more

For more information about the frogs, and to hear them, visit the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk Project Web site.

The coqui are tiny frogs that live in vegetation. At night, they make a very loud chirping sound, which some people find offensive. In Puerto Rico, where the frogs are native, the sound is considered comforting.

At www.hear.org, browsers can read about the frogs and listen to their calls. One of the audio tracks was taken at Lava Tree State Park. Singer also has a Web site, dealing with the frogs.

Government officials are still gathering information about the frogs and possible techniques for controlling them, Wong said.

"We're trying to get a project started to see what we're up against," he said.

The coqui are spreading throughout the Islands. Wong said crews have been clearing vegetation in the parking lot at the Home Depot store in Hono-lulu, where coqui had taken up residence, apparently after being introduced on potted plants brought to the store.

There are dozens of known coqui populations on the Big Island, fewer on Maui, and a handful on O'ahu and Kaua'i.

Wildlife officials say the frogs could cause environmental problems, in part by preying on native insects and possibly native tree snail populations and providing a food source for rats and mongooses, whose increased numbers could further threaten native forest bird nests.

Singer argues that the frogs eat mosquitoes and other non-native insects, too, and ultimately might have a beneficial environmental effect.

"They haven't been shown to be a threat," Singer said.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.