♫Coquí…Coquí ♫
If you’re planning a trip to Puerto Rico…welcome to your nightly serenade. (Video footage at the end of the article.)
Our very first evening in Puerto Rico, we decided to relax by the beach after a long day of travel. And then we began to hear this mysterious noise…gently at first and then growing to surround the hotel as night engulfed the island. We had no idea what we were hearing but were intrigued enough to ask the hotel staff, who told us a little story of Puerto Rico’s beloved coquí frog. Science books will tell you that this little critter is native to Puerto Rico, with over 16 different species found on the island.
Additional interesting facts include:
- Some of the Puerto Rico coquí population is under threat by a fungus which causes skin infection
- They have been introduced to and are thriving in Hawaii, where population control efforts have been initiated
- They are about the size of a quarter, average of about 34mm
- It’s the male frog who you can hear making the signature call
- The “co” call repels males, while the “quí” call attracts females (two-for-one!)
- Although Puerto Rico is their home they have also been found in the Virgin Islands and Dominican Republic
But here’s what you really need to know:
This is a very tiny frog with a very powerful set of lungs, and an orchestra of them will serenade you every night.
We found it charming. Endearing, even. You could call the coquí frog sound an “island lullaby.”
Good luck spotting one, though. Try as we might…and we got close…we could never actually see one. To be fair, they are pretty tiny and it was dark. Fortunately, through the magic of the Internet, we can offer you this video so you can see and hear one for yourself:
After our visit, we downloaded a coquí track and to this day it makes us feel like we are back under the palm trees, hearing the chorus of coquí sound.
Every night around sundown we began to look forward to the coqui frog sound which became our nightly lullaby. You can learn much more about the island and plan your vacation in our Puerto Rico Travel Guide, now available on Amazon as an e-book. (No bulky books to pack!) We were absolutely blown away by our beautiful, affordable experience in Puerto Rico and want to encourage others to visit and fall in love with the island much like we did.
