The beautiful island of Puerto Rico is known for many things. From its beautiful beaches to delicious cuisines, one other thing Puerto Rico is known for is the coqui frog which some say is the island’s national symbol.
Legend has it that before the Taino Awaraks, the original inhabitants of the Caribbean islands settled in Puerto Rico, the island was filled with the coqui frog. With time, deforestation and other climatic factors have dwindled their number and only about sixteen species remain. The Puerto Rican coqui (pronounced ko-kee) is a small arboreal frog that’s brown, yellow, or green in color.
Its scientific genus name—Eleutherodactylus—means “free toes” because, unlike many frogs, the coqui doesn’t have webbed feet. These amphibians have special disks, or toe pads, on their feet that allow them to climb up vertical structures and cling to trees and leaves.
Puerto Rican coquis are one to two inches (2.5 to 5 centimeters) long and weigh two to four ounces (57 to 113 grams). They are one of the largest frog species found in Puerto Rico.
The coquí was here long before any humans came to the island, so they have the longest history, and perhaps they sing each night because they have so much to say. The little frog greeted the Taíno when they came to Boriken from South America.
Taíno petroglyphs depict the frogs, and many of their stories revolve around the amphibian. The legend is that there was a beautiful goddess who fell in love with Coquí, the chief’s son. When he went out to fish, she would make sure that he came back with a big catch, and he would sing praises to her.
One evening, she came to him in the form of a Taíno maiden, and they fell in love. She told Coquí that she would come back the next evening at moonrise, but the next evening came, and with it came the evil Juracán.
The sky blackened and his winds howled and the goddess tried to protect her lover, but Juracán snatched him away and she never saw him again. She did not know how she could go on without her beautiful Coquí, so she created this tiny frog that will forever call for him:
“Co-kee! Co-kee!” In El Yunque National Rainforest, people claim that it rains coquís. This is somewhat true, but not technically accurate. The frogs are actually jumping out of the tree for reasons of survival.
At certain times of the year, when the humidity is high, coquís climb up the tall trees of the forest. As with many journeys, there are perils, and for the coquí, the main danger is the tarantulas who lie in wait to eat them.
They are smart little creatures, so to avoid the spiders, they jump from the trees instead of climbing back down because they are so light that they just float to the ground. So if you are under a tree when they decide to descend, you could get caught in a coquí shower.
