Rats Cleared From Alaska's Rat Island

McClatchy:

After two centuries of an epic infestation, Alaska's Rat Island finally may merit a name change. The island, part of a national wildlife refuge in the sprawling Aleutian chain, appears to be pest-free for the first time since rats overran it after a Japanese sailing ship wrecked there in the late 1700s.

Read the whole story: McClatchy

Comments

[moutonnoir]

Is it possible some property developer wants the island, and has managed to get a 3 million dollar public funded hand-up in clearing the rats?

[Gover]

Should have just dumped some cats there. Hmm how do you get rid of cats though...well, dump some dogs I guess.

But what kills dogs? Maybe some wolverines.
But what kills wolverines? Baboons!
But what kills baboons? Well Aligators of course...
But how do you get rid of Aligators? Rhinos.
But what kills Rhinos? Tell impotent Chinese men about the existence of Rhino Island.

Problem solved.

[moutonnoir]

Animal planet could make a special!

[SamKnause]

Very nice post.

[lost souls rembrd]

Scientist, experts........it's so sad. So these experts didn't realized that the bald eagle who lives off these creatures would perish as well? I remember when a dead whale beached off the coast of Newport Oregon. "Experts" decided that blowing the bloated whale up would rid the coast of the thing; they had a deadline cause tourist season was coming up.

Well. Sad story is there was blubber everywhere, for miles. Sometimes, in my humble opinion, experts should be cast aside for people with common sense. Did anyone ask the Native American indigenous (?) peoples what they would do? Bet not! How tragic.

[lyingtruth]

Who's going to get rid of the rats on Wall Street?

[Gover]

Poison. And it's going to kill the bald eagle on our seal also.

[SamKnause]

I like your sense of humor.

[c661]

Too bad Palin wasn't one of them

[goldcoastsailor]

Rats will be around long after humans

[Cryostatic]

Some of you people should ~really~ read the article in full, before passing judgement.

"Rats, particularly those of the Norway variety, have invaded an estimated 90 percent of islands worldwide. They may be responsible for an estimated 40 percent to 60 percent of all recorded bird and reptile extinctions on islands"

The poison is an anticoagulant, and the rats die mostly in their burrows, where they're unlikely to be scavanged. They theorize that gulls scavenged the rats, and were subsequently eaten by eagles. The loss of 43 of the 50,000+ eagles that populate the area is unfortunate, but a small price to pay if it can help return the ecosystem to it's natural state.

The scientists tried very hard to minimize effects to other animals in the system, and developing a method that would ensure most of the rats died underground is certainly cause for credit, in that area.

[SamKnause]

Great explanation. I concur.

[themainpoint]

"Non-native invasive plants and animals are a serious threat to ecosystems that have taken thousands of years to evolve."

As are people who throw the baby out with the bathwater and kill everything in sight.

[Cryostatic]

That's hardly what happened. Scientists tried very hard to ensure minimal impact on other species in the area. Read the article.

[coastalcarla]

That's a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think? 43 dead out of thousands? I think you only read the headline.

[themainpoint]

Yes...I said that with a bit of sarcasm to try and make a point. Still, the poison is in the food chain and there is no telling the effects it will have down the line. It's also in the environment and there is no telling what the long term effects of that will be. Some poisons take a very long time to break down. I am not familiar with the poison in question here.

[Travis bdboy]

Another great Palin plan gone array....I'm surprised she didn't start shooting

them from a helicopter

[ladycubsfan]

At least one part of Alaska is rat-free! Sadly, the biggest rat of all, Palin, is still there.

[Diver992]

Several points to make here. First off, the rats weren't native to the island, but were introduced from a shipwreck a couple of hundred years ago. 2nd, these rats had nearly wiped out the breeding bird population on the island by eating eggs, chicks, etc. 3rd, Bald Eagles (incidentally, rats eat Eagle chicks and eggs) are a dime a dozen in Alaska, even more on the Aleutian Chain (I saw roughly 80 or 90 on the back of a medium-sized fishing vessel tied up to a dock on another Aleutian island). 4th, every time people visited the island, they stood a good chance of spreading these rats to other islands or areas. Finally, brilliant, really brilliant idea - introduce another non-native species to the island. For the record, no reptiles occur naturally (and this includes snakes) out on the Aleutians or anywhere else in Alaska. With the rats gone maybe the bird species driven off the island can return and the island restored to its original ecosystem.

[totaldisbelief]

Thank you for some reasoned comments.

[UchuKaizoku]

You must be a special kind of stupid if you forgot to consider that many rats become eagle food.

[UchuKaizoku]

And the geniuses kiIIed 43 Bald Eagles in the process. Who advised them to do it, Sarah Palin?

[thebanana]

Wake up HP, this story was on CBC Radio 5 weeks ago.

[AnimalLover6]

Why are human beings so vicious and so stupid?

[totaldisbelief]

your post is applicable to almost all the stories on Huffpo.

[MNValley]

Just because they can.....