Boricuas Respond After Tourist Tries to Silence Beloved Coquí Frogs
Puerto Ricans across social media have expressed outrage after a tourist complained about the croaking of the coquís on Reddit
Tourist’s Post About Silencing Coquí Frogs Prompts Backlash Credit: AP | Courtesy
Recently, Puerto Ricans across social media have expressed outrage after a tourist complained about the croaking of the coquís on Reddit, writing a now-deleted post asking how to silence them at night.
The conversation started when Reddit user Doodie-man-bunz made a post in the Puerto Rico Travel subreddit about a conversation he overheard a couple having at a restaurant. In the post, the user discusses how the couple talked about a spray they were using at their Airbnb to silence the frogs and keep them from croaking all night long. They then asked if anyone knew what spray the couple were using or where they could get something similar, writing “I love nature but- my god those things are so loud at night and a little annoying.”
Though the user has now deleted both their post and their Reddit account, a screenshot of it has gone viral, and the Puerto Rican diaspora has been horrified to learn that tourists coming to the island have taken issue with the coquí and even gone so far as to possibly harm or kill the small frogs. In a now viral video, Boricua TikTok user Merlien spoke about how the coquí is in danger and how the sentiment of the post is disrespectful to Puerto Rican culture and identity:
“It’s a sacred animal, and to add to that, it’s in danger of extinction. If you’re going to visit a place, educate yourself on where you’re traveling so that you’re not going around with harmful behavior destroying our flora and fauna that is an essential part of our Boricua identity,” she said in Spanish.
She then switched over to English to spread the message to non-Spanish speakers, saying:
“Educate yourself and respect our home, because if you haven’t noticed already, people live here! You are disrespecting our nature, you are disrespecting our culture, and you are disrespecting our Indigenous ancestors with your actions…”
The coquí is an endemic species in Puerto Rico, and there are 17 different kinds of coquí, three of which are critically endangered. The species of frog, originally termed as “coquís” by the Taíno people due to their unique croak, is no larger than a coin and is a beloved symbol of Puerto Rican culture.
The anger on social media is aimed not only at the post, but at the increasing entitlement of tourists coming to the Caribbean island and the gentrification occurring there as a result.
