Environmentalists plan to 'bomb' bird-eating rats on Marion Island, South Africa, but raising funds is a challenge
2024-08-26
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[Global Times Comprehensive Report] Environmentalists plan to release pellets mixed with rodenticide on Marion Island in South Africa to eliminate rats that eat albatrosses and other seabirds, but raising funds is currently the biggest problem. According to AFP on the 24th, Marion Island is located about 2,000 kilometers southeast of Cape Town and is one of the most important seabird breeding grounds in the world. However, the increasingly rampant rats on the island not only devour bird eggs, but even crazily eat live birds.
Anderson, the project leader, said that last year, rats were first found attacking wandering albatrosses on Marion Island, where a quarter of the world's wandering albatrosses live. Of the 29 seabird species that breed on the island, 19 are facing threats to their survival. Rat attacks are becoming more and more rampant, and these seabirds are simply unable to respond effectively, resulting in hundreds of thousands of seabirds dying each year.
The "Marion Rat-Free Plan" has been proposed for many years, but has been delayed again and again. The latest preparation is to send helicopters to drop 600 tons of rodenticide granules on the island in the winter of 2027. Winter is the time when rats are the hungriest, and most birds have migrated away from the island, so while "bombing" rats, the impact on non-target species can be reduced. At present, the plan has only raised 1/4 of the total cost of 29 million US dollars.
The report said that the surge in the number of rats is related to global warming, as rising temperatures have prolonged their breeding season. House rats appeared on Marion Island in the early 19th century and gradually increased in number. Around 1948, cats were introduced to control rat infestations. However, as the number of cats grew, the survival of birds was threatened until the last cat on the island was removed in 1991. (Sun Wen)
