Puerto Rican coquí frogs are loud. Islanders want to keep it that way.

For many Puerto Ricans, the nightly chirping of “coh-KEE” — the sound of a tiny frog known as the coquí — is like a national lullaby.

For many Puerto Ricans, the nightly chirping of “coh-KEE” — the sound of a tiny frog known as the coquí — is like a national lullaby.

But for one purported tourist, the noise felt more like a nightmare, according to a now-deleted Reddit post from May on the Puerto Rico Travel thread.

The post, titled “Spray to keep the noisy frogs quiet?” alarmed residents and lovers of the amphibian. In the last month, dozens have voiced their concerns across social media about their fears that visitors to the island appear to want to silence the creature.

On TikTok, videos pleading to leave the coquís alone have millions of views. Some users have urged people not to come to Puerto Rico if they don’t like the sound of the coquÍs. Others have joined in the chorus of voices calling on people to protect coquís from possible harm.

Alejandro Ríos-Franceschi, an associate professor of ecology, biodiversity and evolution at the University of Puerto Rico, Ponce Campus, said that before the social media post, he had never heard of people in Puerto Rico attempting to kill coquís. Puerto Rican environmental officials have not weighed in on the online uproar.