De-ratting the Islands

Invasive species stories read like 1950s horror films – The Blob, The Think, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Rabbits in Australia, Zebra mussels in the Great Lakes, and rats everywhere.  It’s good to see, once in a while, success in reversing an invasion, even if only in a small place.

Two years after the BirdLife International Fiji Programme implemented an operation to eradicate rats from the Ringgold Islands, all seven islands have been confirmed rodent-free. Early monitoring also shows that the birds, people and wider wildlife of these remote islands are already benefitting from the removal of these invasive pests. BirdLife staff are continuing to work with local people to ensure the rats don’t return.

Birdlife.org