The rats may be gone from Rat Island
Posted on: Monday, 24 August 2009, 18:57 CDT
Rat Island, Alaska, may get its Aleut name back now that the rats for which it was named seem to be gone, scientists from a polar marine program said.
A $3 million eradication program appears to have rid the island of rats for the first time since the late 1700s, said Steve MacLean, polar marine program director for The Nature Conservancy in Alaska, one of the partners in the eradication program.
A year ago, crews dropped 700 pounds of poison-laced pellets on the island, McClatchy Newspapers reported Monday. No sign of recent gnawing was apparent, MacLean said.
Crews will return in another year to confirm there are no more rats.
The island, named Howadax -- which means entry
or welcome
in the Aleut language -- was overrun by rats when a Japanese sailing ship wrecked there. MacLean said if no more rats are found, the original name may be restored.
The down side of the program, scientists said, is that more than 250 gulls and bald eagles were found dead on the island, testing positive for the poison. The scientists anticipated gulls would die, but 43 eagles apparently ate dead gulls and were also poisoned. Bald eagles were never endangered in Alaska.
Source: United Press International
Related Articles
- Rat Island Is Now Almost Rat Free
- Rats Wipe Out Seabirds on Alaska Island
- Bird Flu Could Migrate to U.S.: Scientists Identify Alaska As Possible Gateway for Virus to Enter Americas; Focus Put on Wildfowl
- Rat outsmarts scientists for four months
- Rat outsmarts scientists,eludes capture for 4 months
- Rat outsmarts scientists, eludes capture for 4 months
- Nevada Star Resource Corp. Announces Start of Exploration Program for the New MAN Alaska Gold Project
- Modification of Program Enables Predicition of Gene Transcription
- Scientists Ponder Alaska's Volcanic Nature
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds