Removing Rats

Imagine stepping onto a remote Pacific island. At first blush, it’s paradise and uninhabited. Sand beaches, lovely trees, blue water.

Hey, you may think. Those trees look amazing. Let me check them out….

But as you approach the green areas you find… the forest floor literally crawling with thousands of rodents, it’s not a horror movie. It’s what life was like for decades on the Bikar Atoll and Jemo Islet in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. These islands, once dubbed Los Pájaros (The Birds,) have long been full of the trees, the beaches and full of green sea turtles and soot terns. That was the case until an unwelcome stowaway from maritime trade came a calling, black rats, and soon these vibrant spaces turned into “ecological graveyards.”

But, then came nature and science and these two islands are back on their way to unadulterated beauty. All it took was some drones, some poison, and some smart global conservation experts has triggered a recovery so rapid it has left researchers breathless.