A reddit post where a user inquired about a spray that could keep Puerto Rico’s iconic coquí from croaking has gone viral. The poster overheard other tourists saying they used a spray at their Airbnb to keep the frogs quiet and stated, “I didn’t catch what type of product it was and they left before I got the chance to ask them and I haven’t found anything online or in stores. Anyone know what they might be using? I definitely would like to get some, I love nature but my god those things are so loud at night and a little annoying.”
And therein lies the problem Bad Bunny, Bianca Graulau and countless others have been drawing attention to with the overdevelopment, gentrification and the impact of tourism on Puerto Rico. The housing market in Puerto Rico has long been in turmoil, with native Puerto Ricans being priced out as non-natives snap up properties for short term rentals and outside developers acquire properties and convert them into luxury housing all the while attempting to cut off public beach access from locals and taking advantage of tax breaks not available to Puerto Ricans from the island. Outsiders are quick to snap up property, impacting the local housing market and catering short term rentals to tourists who have no respect for the land or the law. Yes, the law.
It is illegal to kill, harm or capture the coquí in Puerto Rico as they are protected under the Endangered Species Act. “Any person who harms, captures, or kills a protected coquí, or damages its eggs or critical habitat, can face penalties.” Whether or not tourists are aware of the endangered species status of the coquí is besides the point. Traveling to a country where you have zero respect for its inhabitants is audacious. And yes, that lack of respect extends towards the wildlife and the culture itself, for the coquí has been a part of Puerto Rican culture for thousands of years.
The coquí is more than just a reference on Bad Bunny’s latest album. The coquí has long been a symbol of Puerto Rico itself, with the coquí symbol appearing throughout indigenous Taíno art and pottery. According to Taíno beliefs, the coquí was created by a goddess who fell in love with Coquí, the chief’s son. The goddess told Coquí that she would come one evening, but she never arrived. Instead, Juracán, the deity of chaos and disorder came. The goddess tried to protect her lover, but Juracán took him away and they never saw each other again. In order to cope with the loss of her beloved Coquí, she created a frog that will forever call out his name.
But the coquí is so much more than just ancient island lore passed down to us from our ancestors. It is the very soundtrack to the island, croaking a serenade that lulls its native inhabitants to sleep. Puerto Ricans who have been forced to leave the island due to the impacts of hurricane Maria and further colonization of the island long to hear that sound again. And yet, tourists privileged enough to stay in short-term rentals that have taken housing off the market and away from locals have the audacity to complain that frogs that are actually native to the land are “annoying.” Want to know what’s really annoying? The negative impacts the mere presence of inconsiderate tourists and developers are having on the ecosystem of Puerto Rico.
In 2014, UCLA professor Peter Narins published a study which examined 170 male coquí frogs in 1983 and 116 male coquí frogs again in 2006. The study was the first to show the effects of climate change on a species of frogs in the tropics and found that the coquís have adapted to temperature changes by becoming smaller. Yes, smaller. As a result of their change in size, the sound of their mating calls have been altered, making them shorter and more high pitched. Temperature changes to the island have literally altered an entire species of endangered animal but tourists want to complain about said altered pitch.
The animals have literally adapted as a result of the negative impact external forces have made on their habitat, yet visitors to Puerto Rico cannot be bothered to adapt to the native sounds of an island where they are a guest.
The coquí who has existed as part of Puerto Rico’s ecosystem for over 11,000 years is in danger of extinction due to temperature changes and conditions that are exacerbated by the overdevelopment and gentrification of the island which has resulted in the contamination of their water and the destruction of their natural habitats.
The disregard that tourists and developers have for the wildlife of Puerto Rico is symbolic of a much larger issue. When the natives to a land are treated with such blatant disrespect, it shows a complete lack of respect for the island itself. It also serves as a staunch reminder of why it is so vital to preserve the things that make Puerto Rico so unique.
Puerto Rico is known as “la isla de encanto” but tourists and developers want it to be la isla que no canta. And if you cannot handle the sounds of Puerto Rico, then perhaps you don’t belong there.
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