South Africa will exterminate 1 million rats on Marion Island

A remote island near Antarctica is planning to mass exterminate mice because they are enemies that harm the local ecosystem and wipe out rare seabirds.

Mice on Marion Island in the Prince Edward Islands, located between Cape Town, South Africa, and Antarctica, are breeding out of control, seriously destroying the island's unique ecological diversity, Business Insider reported on June 18. 3 reported. According to Anton Wolfaardt, Mouse-Free Marion project manager, they are one of the most successful animals in the world and are present everywhere.

Young wandering albatrosses are attacked by rats. (Photo: Stefan Schoombie).

The invasion of Marion Island by mice began in the early 19th century when they escaped from sealing ships and became the first mammalian predators on the island. The rats eat seabirds, including nestlings and adults, even though they are only a fraction of the size of their prey. Conservationists on Marion Island once photographed a mouse sitting and eating a young wandering albatross.

Rats hunting seabirds is a rare phenomenon that has only been recorded on a few islands. Rising global temperatures are behind the skyrocketing rat population on the island, pushing them to find alternative food sources such as seabirds. Mice find that many seabirds are defenseless against their attacks and become immobile targets.

According to BirdLife International, the Prince Edward Islands are home to millions of seabirds of 29 species, including penguins. The Mouse-Free Marion Project says 19 of the seabird species that breed on the island face local extinction unless authorities take action.

That's why the project plans to use helicopters to spread 550 tons of bait containing rat poison across the island. According to them, this is the only successful method in eliminating rats from large islands. Keith Springer, Mouse-Free Marion project operations manager, said their plan had important implications for the island and the wider region. Marion Island's seabirds are members of the region's seabird population, which is inevitably linked to the health of the subantarctic region.

It is estimated that there are more than a million mice on Marion Island. Previous efforts to reduce their numbers, including using cats, were ineffective and complicated the problem. Thousands of feral cats killed 500,000 seabirds a year until they were eliminated by the influenza virus. Currently, the Mouse-Free Marion project needs to mobilize a budget of 25 million USD for the plan, most likely starting in 2027.