Tyr-Ziu Saxnot
11-15-2012, 09:12 AM
http://news.msn.com/world/rat-kill-in-galapagos-islands-targets-180-million
<ARTICLE class=articlecontent sizset="0" sizcache003484618217751573="3"><HEADER> Rat kill in Galapagos Islands targets 180 million</HEADER><SECTION class=storyimage>http://col.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/69/DE521AAF4891B5C99FA822B166D7_h366_w650_m6_lfalse.j pg
AP Photo: Galapagos National Park. IMAGE: In this Nov. 11, 2012 photo released by Galapagos National Park, park staff test equipment that will hold poisonous bait to kill rats on the Galapagos Islands, as they stand on Baltra Island.
<SECTION class=partnerlogo>http://col.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/C8/982D6AEBF1CE5941B27229F7C36C83_h17_w0_m6_lfalse.jp g <TIME datetime="2012-11-15 00:00:00Z">14 hr ago</TIME> By Gonzalo Solano </SECTION></SECTION><SECTION sizset="0" sizcache003484618217751573="2">To preserve its unique birds, reptiles and native plants, Galapagos Islands authorities will start a mass kill-off of an invasive species of rats, using nearly 22 tons of rat poison.
<SECTION sizset="0" sizcache003484618217751573="1">
QUITO, Ecuador — The unique bird and reptile species that make the Galapagos Islands a treasure for scientists and tourists must be preserved, Ecuadorean authorities say — and that means the rats must die, hundreds of millions of them.
A helicopter is to begin dropping nearly 22 tons of specially designed poison bait on an island Thursday, launching the second phase of a campaign to clear out by 2020 non-native rodents from the archipelago that helped inspire Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
The invasive Norway and black rats, introduced by whalers and buccaneers beginning in the 17th century, feed on the eggs and hatchlings of the islands' native species, which include giant tortoises, lava lizards, snakes, hawks and iguanas. Rats also have depleted plants on which native species feed.
The rats have critically endangered bird species on the 19-island cluster 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from Ecuador's coast.
"It's one of the worst problems the Galapagos have. (Rats) reproduce every three months and eat everything," said Juan Carlos Gonzalez, a specialist with the Nature Conservancy involved in the Phase II eradication operation on Pinzon island and the islet of Plaza Sur.
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Looks like we need a little of that cleaning here in the USA too.--Tyr
<ARTICLE class=articlecontent sizset="0" sizcache003484618217751573="3"><HEADER> Rat kill in Galapagos Islands targets 180 million</HEADER><SECTION class=storyimage>http://col.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/69/DE521AAF4891B5C99FA822B166D7_h366_w650_m6_lfalse.j pg
AP Photo: Galapagos National Park. IMAGE: In this Nov. 11, 2012 photo released by Galapagos National Park, park staff test equipment that will hold poisonous bait to kill rats on the Galapagos Islands, as they stand on Baltra Island.
<SECTION class=partnerlogo>http://col.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/C8/982D6AEBF1CE5941B27229F7C36C83_h17_w0_m6_lfalse.jp g <TIME datetime="2012-11-15 00:00:00Z">14 hr ago</TIME> By Gonzalo Solano </SECTION></SECTION><SECTION sizset="0" sizcache003484618217751573="2">To preserve its unique birds, reptiles and native plants, Galapagos Islands authorities will start a mass kill-off of an invasive species of rats, using nearly 22 tons of rat poison.
<SECTION sizset="0" sizcache003484618217751573="1">
QUITO, Ecuador — The unique bird and reptile species that make the Galapagos Islands a treasure for scientists and tourists must be preserved, Ecuadorean authorities say — and that means the rats must die, hundreds of millions of them.
A helicopter is to begin dropping nearly 22 tons of specially designed poison bait on an island Thursday, launching the second phase of a campaign to clear out by 2020 non-native rodents from the archipelago that helped inspire Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
The invasive Norway and black rats, introduced by whalers and buccaneers beginning in the 17th century, feed on the eggs and hatchlings of the islands' native species, which include giant tortoises, lava lizards, snakes, hawks and iguanas. Rats also have depleted plants on which native species feed.
The rats have critically endangered bird species on the 19-island cluster 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from Ecuador's coast.
"It's one of the worst problems the Galapagos have. (Rats) reproduce every three months and eat everything," said Juan Carlos Gonzalez, a specialist with the Nature Conservancy involved in the Phase II eradication operation on Pinzon island and the islet of Plaza Sur.
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Looks like we need a little of that cleaning here in the USA too.--Tyr