Wildlife officials in Hawaii are using aerial drones to wage chemical warfare on coqui frogs by dumping citric acid on these invasive creatures, thereby killing them — along with any tadpoles and eggs.
The officials are using drones to eradicate the frogs because they recently found a population of the amphibians in a mountainous strip of land on the island of Oahu that’s inaccessible to pest control crews, according to a statement from the state’s Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR).
It’s a wild scenario that somehow encapsulates the environmental problems many fragile ecosystems are facing — the introduction of foreign species — along with how us humans are turning to technology, like drones, to solve them.
The infestation of coqui frogs, so named because of the distinctive sound they make, was detected by a resident who heard them noisily croaking in the island’s Kuliʻouʻou Forest Reserve, according to the DLNR, a spectacular and mountainous tropical forest with scenic views.
Wildlife experts following up on that tip then discovered that about 13 acres of forest were plagued by these frogs, setting off a mad scramble to deploy the drones.
The drones are dumping a watery solution with a citric food additive on infested areas, according to the DLNR. Non-toxic to humans, the frogs are fatally susceptible to this solution because they absorb the liquid through their porous skin.
Frog Sothoth
Hawaii officials want to kill off these cute-looking frogs because they have no natural predators in the island state, hence why their population has exploded over recent decades. They also have an incredible appetite, devouring native insects and spiders that indigenous animals like birds rely on for food.
The frogs originally came to Hawaii from their native Puerto Rico in the 1980s while hitching aboard nursery plants as stowaways.
Since then, wildlife officials have been pushing a campaign to kill them off, and not just for the benefit of native fauna and flora. These frogs are piercingly loud, with males reaching 90 decibels, or about the noise level of a lawn mower. Basically, they’re noise pollution nightmares.
Since the problem was caused by humans, it seems only fitting local authorities are turning to a human-engineered solution to help them in killing off these slimy, beady-eyed pests.
Hopefully the drones will prove to be effective in controlling these plague of frogs so that places like Oahu preserve their pristine beauty.
Source: The Byte