The Coquí, the Song of Puerto Rico's Nights
As soon as night falls in Puerto Rico, the air fills with a loud, two-note call, 'co-kee, co-kee', from a frog the size of a coin.
What was reported
The coquí is a tiny tree frog, often just 2 or 3 centimetres long, that lives in Puerto Rico. At dusk, the males begin calling, a sharp, two-note 'co-quí', and thousands of them together make a chorus that can reach the loudness of a busy street. It's the soundtrack of Puerto Rican nights.
The coquí is a beloved symbol of the island. A popular saying goes that coquís can't survive outside Puerto Rico, and that if one leaves, it stops singing.
Explanations offered
The two notes of the call do different jobs: one warns off other males, the other attracts females. Coquís introduced accidentally to Hawaii have thrived there, where people complain about the noise, so the saying isn't quite true.
- When
- Heard every night
- Where
- El Yunque, Puerto Rico
- Witnesses
- Everyone who has spent a night in Puerto Rico
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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