The hunt for a pest frog has been relaunched after a West Auckland woman reported hearing what might have been the distinctive "bonk" call of the eastern banjo frog.
When Sue Lewis was walking near her Huia home on Tuesday, she saw a group of frogs on one sideof the road but heard a very different sound coming from the opposite side.
"I thought it sounded very unusual, definitely a sort of 'bonk' sound, a single note that goes every few seconds," she said.
Mrs Lewis said the call sounded similar to that played to her on a tape by Auckland Regional Council biosecurity staff when she phoned to report the noise.
ARC biosecurity response officer Mike Harre said an officer was investigating the area identified by Mrs Lewis, close to the original site tadpoles were discovered in 1999.
The council spent two years monitoring the area for the frog with the use of a "banjo box" which plays a recording of the frog's call and then records any sound made in return.
"We heard nothing and have seen no sign of it," Mr Harre said.
But weather conditions in Auckland have been ideal if there are any male banjo frogs about. The males give their mating call on warm nights after two to three days' rain.
The eastern banjo frog is an Australian native and is an aggressive predator which secretes poison from its glands to deter would-be attackers. It poses a threat to native insects and frogs, particularly the endangered Hochstetter's frog.
