Hawaiians Unite to Kill Frogs

Science Notes

Compiled by the editors of LiveScience.

Hawaiians Unite to Kill Frogs

April 12: (AP) -- A group of neighbors in a rural Upcountry Maui community has banded together to rid their yards of annoying coqui frogs. "It's all about people power,'' said Adam Radford of the Maui Invasive Species Committee. "It's a waste of resources when you work up to a border and you can't go any farther. We'll never get on top of this without neighborhoods and personal responsibility.''

The invasive quarter-sized frogs subsist on the same diet of insects as native birds and are seen by many in the state -- including the Department of Land and Natural Resources -- as a threat to local species. Although the sound of the frogs' "ko-KEE, ko-KEE'' song is cherished in their native Puerto Rico, the coquis' loud chirping is unwelcome in the otherwise quiet neighborhoods of the Big Island and Maui, the island most impacted by the frogs.

Marine biologist Ann Fielding said her yard is officially frog-free thanks to her friends and neighbors. "A lot of times, you'll get one or two people who are really proactive, two or three who will be supportive but not active, and one that's not necessarily supportive and takes some convincing,'' she said. Fielding said her neighborhood "frog squad'' has grown to include about a dozen regulars who meet monthly and participate in hunts that take place after dark. "Once you hear the frogs and you know you've got them, you just think you have to learn to live with them until you realize there's a whole group that cares,'' said Fielding. -- Associated Press