South Africa to kill over 1 million mice

Environmentalists plan to exterminate mice on Marion Island in South Africa that threaten birds and the island's biological balance.

Their population has grown to over a million as climate change has raised temperatures, Sky News reported on Saturday.

Mice that were mistakenly brought to an island near Antarctica 200 years ago are breeding out of control due to climate change, eating seabirds and causing serious damage to a special nature reserve with "exceptional biodiversity." Ecologists have prepared a plan for their mass extermination using helicopters and hundreds of tons of poison.

As part of the "Marion without mice" project - large-scale pest control - six helicopters are to drop 550 tons of rat poison on the island. But if even one pregnant mouse survives, it may all be in vain, such is the reproductive capacity of these rodents.

The island is home to valuable populations of almost 30 species of birds, a rare habitat for wandering albatrosses - with a wingspan of up to three meters - and many other species.

Rough estimates suggest that there are over a million mice living on the island, an uninhabited territory of South Africa. They feed on invertebrates, and increasingly also on seabirds - both nestlings and adults.

"It may seem surprising, but a single mouse can actually eat a bird several times its size," says Dr Anton Wolfaardt, head of the "Marion without Mouse" project. The researcher says the birds have not developed defense mechanisms against these predators and often sit still while mice nibble on them. Sometimes the bird is surrounded and attacked by many mice.

Environmentalists estimate that if nothing is done, 19 species of seabirds will disappear from the island within 50 to 100 years, Wolfaardt added.

The mouse-killing plan was designed to not negatively impact the island's soil or water sources. It should not harm seabirds that feed in the sea, emphasises Dr Wolfaardt. He adds that some species will likely be affected by disease on an individual level, but will not become extinct.

Environmentalists are seeking permission to begin the mouse extermination project in 2027. The project requires raising approximately $25 million and obtaining final approval from the South African authorities.

This article was originally published on Onet Travel.