Thank the coquis, don’t kill them
Originally the coqui frog was declared a hazard because it might become a food source for the brown tree snake if the snake ever gets here. Now these “scientists” are claiming coquis will eat the indigenous, herbivorous invertebrates and alter the leaf litter on the forest floor.
The little coquis don’t even come close to the damage that wild and domestic chickens do. I hear no one calling for the eradication of all the noisy chickens and other nonindigenous birds, not to mention the howling dogs and predatory cats that tear up the environment.
The coquis are here to stay. They don’t even have an aquatic stage. They just hatch out of their eggs and start munching detrimental bugs.
Some diabolical “scientists” even tested the frogs and found they are resistant to the chytrid fungus that is killing frogs worldwide. These “scientists” were probably thinking of introducing the fungus to this island to kill off the coquis, which would not surprise me at all given their past performances. Imagine the consequences of such an action to the rest of the world.
These little frogs do much more good than harm to agriculture, making it much easier for organic farming. For one thing, they come out after dark at the same time the beetles skeletonize the leaves on vines like beans and other food plants. We should thank them, not kill them.
Jim West
Naalehu