Noisy Frogs Plague Hawaii
H O N O L U L U, Dec. 28 -- Larry Stevens lives in a secluded rain forest onthe east side of the Big Island, a quiet spot where he once enjoyedthe peaceful, gentle sounds of nature.
But Stevens hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in months. Noisytree frogs have invaded the Hawaiian Islands, and have spread soquickly that state and federal officials say there’s little theycan do.
“You’d never believe so much noise could come from a creaturethat small,” said Stevens, a 51-year-old social worker.
Carried by Potted Plants
The cute green frogs, the size of a dime to a quarter, arrivedin shipments of agricultural goods, possibly in potted plants,researchers say.
Instead of croaking, they chirp — loud and often. Individualmales have piercing chirps that reach as high as 90 to 100 decibelsfrom a foot and a half away. That’s comparable to a lawn mower,table saw or helicopter, according to the University of Hawaii’sSpeech Pathology and Audiology department.
The frogs were first noticed in the mid-1980s in ruralCurtistown on the Big Island, but have since spread to parts ofOahu, Maui and Kauai.
From a dozen population sites early last year, the frogs havespread to 150 places on the Big Island, and the state has set up ahot line where residents can call to report their appearance.
Flourishing in New Home
Mindy Clark, an orchid farmer in Curtistown, said she has toclose her windows since the frogs “infiltrated” her neighborhood.
“Soon as it gets 5:30 [p.m.] they’ll start chirping,” Clarksaid. “And they’ll go real strong till midnight.”
They don’t create a major problem in their native Caribbean,where natural predators control their population. But with anexponential reproduction rate and no enemies other than angryhumans, the frog population in Hawaii has exploded.
In some areas, there are more than 8,000 frogs per acre.
“The sheer number here is the big difference,” said EarlCampbell, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National WildlifeResearch Center.
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