OT: Shrieking Frogs Unnerve Hawaiian Island

[Guest guest]

Hi y'all,

 

Those who live in Hawaii will know more about this than I do .. but in

my three years there as a Military Police Officer, I also oversaw the

Animal Control and Game Preservation/Enforcement program on Schofield

Barracks .. and the mountains behind, so I had to learn a fair amount

about the conditions of wild life. I have fond memories of my time

there and recall thinking it was the least spoiled state in the USA ..

folks who go as tourists don't see this .. you have to live there. The

times are changing and the ecosystem is in big danger now.

 

Those who has spent time there will have experienced the Mongoose. I

had a garden plot that was cut out of the jungle by the military .. and

often I have watched them run out of the bushes and attack doves and

other birds. Mongoose was introduced to Hawaii by Europeans and since

then it has caused much harm to native species. Mongoose were brought

in to kill off rats in sugar cane fields but they didn't do their home

work and the plan failed because the Mongoose sleeps nights and hunts

days, and the rat sleeps days and hunts nights, so they never met. To

survive, the Mongoose turned to native species .. they cause great harm

to ground nesting birds .. including the state bird, the Nene Goose.

 

There are vines in Hawaii that are not native .. and some of them are

proficient at suffocating small trees in order to get the sunlight they

need to survive.

 

Goats and pigs were brought in by the Europeans as food .. and now they

are feral and are hunted year around .. but they continue to thrive and

to tear up the land.

 

Don't think there are no snakes in Hawaii .. they kill one now and then

and its obvious that many of them came in the same way the frogs came

in, while others were smuggled. There have also been cases of Florida

alligators being found in Hawaii.

 

Two fish I am personally aware of that have been introduced are the

Tulapia (Nile Perch) from Egypt and the Tucanare (Peacock Bass) from the

Amazon. Both were brought in and dumped in Wilson and Waita Reservoirs.

The Tucanare is a great fresh water sport fish .. like the Large Mouth

Bass .. and its very delicious .. I've caught and eaten many hundreds of

them. Though many people in the Eastern world and Europe eat Tulapia I

wouldn't eat them. I have seen them so thick one could imagine walking

across their backs .. they live on algae and are very prolific .. but to

me, they stink.

 

Presently there are at least two species of native mammals, 30 birds, 5

reptiles and amphibians and 279 taxi of plants on the endangered list in

Hawaii. More than a third of the species on the U.S. endangered

species list come from Hawaii. Hawaii is often called the endangered

species capital of the world as 316 endangered species can be found in

various ecosystems there.

 

I hope they can get their act together before its too late.

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

 

 

Shrieking Frogs Unnerve Hawaiian Island

 

By B.J. REYES

 

HONOLULU (AP) - A tiny frog with a huge shriek has invaded the Big

Island and won't shut up. Big Island Mayor Harry Kim is looking for $2

million to begin controlling the spread of the nocturnal coqui frog, a

beloved native in Puerto Rico but considered an annoying pest in Hawaii

since hitching a ride over in shipments of tropical plants around 1990.

 

The frogs have been mating easily - and shattering quiet island nights -

ever since.

 

Aside from the noise, the frogs have a voracious appetite for spiders

and insects, competing with native birds and fauna. And coqui frogs are

adaptable to many ecosystems and breed heavily in Hawaii, experts said.

 

Kim said the Big Island, the local name for the island of Hawaii, will

once again ask Gov. Linda Lingle to declare the coqui frog infestation a

state emergency to help clear the way for state financial assistance.

The $2 million is needed to launch a combined state, federal and county

program to combat the frogs, Kim said. He made his plea Tuesday before

state lawmakers, who will consider the request later this year.

 

Kim said he declared a county emergency in April over the frogs, but the

state waited to see if the federal government would offer assistance,

which it did not.

 

Spraying of a citric acid solution on the islands of Oahu and Kauai have

curtailed coqui populations there, but limited spraying on Kim's island

has done little.

 

" I think the response from all of us has not been timely enough, " he

said, noting that experts suggest he focus on controlling the coqui's

spread, rather than eradicating it completely.

 

" I kick myself in the back every day for not getting started more

aggressively, " Kim said.

 

More than 150 communities on the Big Island are now infested with the

coin-sized frogs, named after their high-decibel " ko-KEE, ko-KEE " chirp.

 

On the Net:

 

Hawaii Legislature: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov

 

 

01/20/05 07:06

 

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