Hawaiian ‘Frog Whisperer’ keeps menacing coqui frog population under control

Toronto has its raccoons, New York its rats, and in Hawaii, where lush greenery and scenic landscapes make this collection of Pacific islands a virtual paradise, locals have to contend with the oversized menace of the teeny weeny coqui frog.

Coquis are indescribably adorable, coin-sized amphibians that originally come from the jungles of Puerto Rico.

Like many a miniature stowaway throughout history, coquis have been hitching free rides to Hawaii on cargo ships since the 1980s.

And like many a species that finds itself in pretty sweet new accommodations, the little guys began to multiply with the force of a million bunny rabbits.

The trouble, according to sleep-deprived locals, stems from this active mating schedule. More specifically, the coqui mating call can boom up to 90 decibels and goes on for hours and hours and hours after dark.

[ Related: Namaqua rain frog will squeak you to death ]

While this stamina may seem impressive in any other context, try telling that to an entire town that can’t get any shut-eye thanks to these nightly episodes of Frogs Gone Wild.

The problem is so pronounced that people have been moving away from areas with a high coqui population, threatening both real estate and tourism.

Though the frog population appears to be concentrated on Hawaii’s Big Island, Oddity Central notes that a lack of natural predators has led to a spike in coqui demographics.

And as they seem to be mobile creatures, authorities fear they will eventually find their way up to remote parts of the archipelago where their uninterrupted breeding would result to a coqui invasion of popcorn-movie proportion.

So far, attempts to control the population have proved futile. After years of failed coqui-killing efforts, the government threw its figurative hands up in despair and admitted defeat.

Unaware of the human distress they had caused, the coquis just kept the party going.

Enter Keevin Meenami, frog whisperer.

Meenami holds a day job as a land vertebrates expert at Hawaii’s Department of Agriculture. He’s a man of both talent and compassion. Meenami can imitate the mating call of the coqui to such effect that the frogs actually come out of hiding to check out who that foxy frog-lady might be.

But instead of using the art of mimicry to engage in amphibian massacre, Meenami refuses to harm the frogs, preferring to gently capture them and transfer them to an enormous living habitat in his office where they can live out the rest of their froggy lives in peace, if not quiet.

So far, this tactic has netted him hundreds of coquis and he doesn’t plan to stop any time soon.

[ Related: Itsy-bitsy endangered frog bred in bid to save species ]

He joins the ranks of Kevin Richardson, Cristina Zenato and Sean Ellis, extraordinary individuals who prove that with the right communication skills, sharks, wolves and lions can be as sweet and cuddly as brand new puppies.

It also highlights the need to improve on those communications so humans can stop killing living creatures that don’t deserve to be harmed.

Meenami shows us we can do better. Wouldn’t want to hang out in his office after sunset, however.