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Giant Mice Killing Off Rare Seabirds
We've all heard of cat-and-mouse games, but on one remote British island, there's a mouse-and-bird game afoot. According to National Geographic, Gough Island in the South Atlantic Ocean is having an issue with large, hungry mice consuming millions of endangered baby birds.
The island has remained relatively untouched, with only a small group of humans living there running a weather station. This isolation has allowed over 20 different species of birds to roost on the island, with several of them using it as a breeding ground.
RELATED: See new species discovered in the past year.
Unfortunately, the isolation has also allowed the island's mice to grow to large proportions and develop a taste for baby birds. The rodents have been targeting the Atlantic petrel, decimating the 1.6 million petrels born on Gough Island yearly, consuming as many as 1.25 million of the newborns.
Part of the issue is that these common house mice have no natural predators on the island, allowing their numbers to skyrocket to over 1.9 million mice on only 25 square miles. This freedom has also caused the mice to achieve massive sizes, reaching up to 10 inches long.
RELATED: See more of the most massive animals ever!
The Atlantic petrel is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature endangered-species list, worrying researchers about what will happen to the birds now that their breeding haven is under attack. Eradication programs are being developed to target the problem with poisoned baiting being the most likely response.
Researchers stress that the problem of these plus-sized pests needs to be addressed soon, because it will only get worse if left alone. Not only are these mice harming the petrels, but the island as well, since the native birds help keep Gough Island alive and flourishing.
The island has remained relatively untouched, with only a small group of humans living there running a weather station. This isolation has allowed over 20 different species of birds to roost on the island, with several of them using it as a breeding ground.
RELATED: See new species discovered in the past year.
Unfortunately, the isolation has also allowed the island's mice to grow to large proportions and develop a taste for baby birds. The rodents have been targeting the Atlantic petrel, decimating the 1.6 million petrels born on Gough Island yearly, consuming as many as 1.25 million of the newborns.
Part of the issue is that these common house mice have no natural predators on the island, allowing their numbers to skyrocket to over 1.9 million mice on only 25 square miles. This freedom has also caused the mice to achieve massive sizes, reaching up to 10 inches long.
RELATED: See more of the most massive animals ever!
The Atlantic petrel is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature endangered-species list, worrying researchers about what will happen to the birds now that their breeding haven is under attack. Eradication programs are being developed to target the problem with poisoned baiting being the most likely response.
Researchers stress that the problem of these plus-sized pests needs to be addressed soon, because it will only get worse if left alone. Not only are these mice harming the petrels, but the island as well, since the native birds help keep Gough Island alive and flourishing.
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Add a Comment
6 Comments
Arrange a varmint hunt, they would be there in a NYC minute
May 22 2012 at 10:43 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyArrange a hunting season...... Varmint hunters would be there in a NYC minute
May 22 2012 at 10:43 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyBring in some neutered cats. When the rats are gone, re-home the cats.
May 22 2012 at 8:25 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyMaybe the cats will also eat the birds?
May 22 2012 at 8:36 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThe problem in poisoning them is then they become food for other animals which then kills large amounts of them. They need natural predators to kill off a large bunch of them.
May 22 2012 at 8:22 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyMight I suggest that you wait until after the breeding season of the Atlantic petrel, then use poison or whatever means necessary to eradicate the mice. It's not like killing off all these mice is going to be a big loss to the eco system.
May 22 2012 at 6:40 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply