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posted by mrpg on Saturday January 26 2019, @09:21PM   Printer-friendly
from the tortugas dept.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00176-z

A conservation group is using drones to eradicate invasive rats by dropping poison on two small islands in Ecuador’s Galápagos archipelago — the first time such an approach has been used on vertebrates in the wild. The operation, which began on 12 January on North Seymour island in the Galápagos National Park, aims to protect native animals and plants from the destructive rodents.

Rats and other non-native species have caused extensive damage to the Galápagos, whose unique flora and fauna evolved in isolation for millions of years. In the process, native species lost many defence mechanisms against predators. Rats, which reproduce quickly and eat a wide variety of plants and animals, have been a target of eradication campaigns across the Galápagos.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 27 2019, @05:14AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 27 2019, @05:14AM (#792546)

    Why not drop a few cats in there? Isn't that the usual solution for this problem?

    Or are we worried about the local birdlife to be too stupid to get out of the way?