RARE ALBATROSS
British charity plans to rid Gough Island of bird-eating mice
Mice brought to a remote south Atlantic island by sailors in the 19th century are threatening seabirds including the critically endangered Tristan albatross, a British charity said on Monday. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said the rodents had proliferated on uninhabited Gough Island, part of a British overseas territory, and were killing two million birds every year. "We knew there were large numbers of chicks and eggs being eaten each year but the actual number being taken by the mice is just staggering," Alex Bond, a researcher from the Natural History Museum in London, said. The predatory mice had evolved to become "two or three times larger" than the average house mouse and attack in groups, eating away at the flesh of chicks that suffer for days before the open wounds lead to their deaths, the society said. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Tristan da Cunha government are teaming up with international partners to eradicate mice from Gough Island ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.