by Aria Kerebs

Hawaii’s natural fauna is interesting and unique and ranges from tropical birds, seals, and marine mammals, to geckos, and various invertebrates. The islands are a hotspot for biodiversity for terrestrial, aquatic, marine, and aerial species.

One species that is not native to the Hawaiian Islands however is the Coqui frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui). The Coqui frog is small and not always easy to spot, however, once the sun goes down they are very easy to hear. They make a sound just like their name “KO-KEE”, and are very distinctive amongst the stillness of the night. Originally my roommate and I thought the noise was coming from a bird, and we were constantly trying to spot the bird, but never had any success. For the first few weeks, we would scan the tree branches at night to try and identify the source of the sound. However, upon realising what we were actually hearing was a tiny frog living on the ground, we felt a little silly and accepted that we probably wouldn’t ever find the source of the noise way up in the branches.

Hawai’i has many interesting critters and creatures, including the Gold Dust Day Gecko (Phelsuma laticauda), the Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the Hawaiian state bird, the endemic Nēnē or Hawaiian Goose (Branta sandvicensis). Seeing such diversity of life in such a small, isolated area is a true delight and makes my exchange to Hilo Hawai’i feel all the more special.