Shrieking Frogs Unnerve Hawaii

A tiny frog with a huge shriek has invadedthe Big Island and won't shut up.

Mayor Harry Kim is looking for $2 million to begincontrolling the spread of the nocturnal coqui frog, a beloved native in PuertoRico but considered an annoying pest in Hawaii since hitching a ride over inshipments of tropical plants around 1990.

The frogs have been mating easily and shattering quietisland nights ever since.

Aside from the noise, the frogs have a voracious appetitefor spiders and insects, competing with native birds and fauna. And coqui frogsare adaptable to many ecosystems and breed heavily in Hawaii, experts said.

Kim said the Big Island, the local name for the island ofHawaii, will once again ask Gov. Linda Lingle to declare the coqui froginfestation a state emergency to help clear the way for state financialassistance. The $2 million is needed to launch a combined state, federal andcounty program to combat the frogs, Kim said. He made his plea Tuesday beforestate lawmakers, who will consider the request later this year.

Kim said he declared a county emergency in April over thefrogs, but the state waited to see if the federal government would offerassistance, which it did not.

Spraying of a citric acid solution on the islands of Oahuand Kauai have curtailed coqui populations there, but limited spraying on Kim'sisland has done little.

"I think the response from all of us has not been timelyenough," he said, noting that experts suggest he focus on controlling the coqui'sspread, rather than eradicating it completely.

"I kick myself in the back every day for not gettingstarted more aggressively," Kim said.

More than 150 communities on the Big Island are now infestedwith the coin-sized frogs, named after their high-decibel "ko-KEE, ko-KEE"chirp.