The headline I saw didn't mention the dead part and I thought Guam was going down the always-a-bad-idea of introducing one critter to control another. And it made for all sorts of funny mental visuals. Turns out the mice are dead, and laced with small amounts of acetaminophen, which just happens to be highly toxic to the brown tree snake that is eating Guam. And any other environment it can get to, having proved highly capable of hiding in anything, including plane wheel wells. In the 60 years since its arrival on the island it has, among other things, devastated the native bird population of the island.
So a second round of 2000 liddle poisoned mice with liddle parachutes has been dropped into the tree canopy in the hope that they will become snacks for snakes.
Considering that the brown tree snake population is estimated to be up to 13,000 per square mile, it's going to take a whole bunch more mice, I'm thinking.
Naw, what it will do is just thin the herd a bit, so the ones that are left are the biggest strongest, most resistant to acetominephen.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point, particularly since this snake has proved so very adaptable.
DeleteI remember those bastards from when Dad was stationed there back in the 80's. You always had to look before opening a storm shutter or trash can, anything that had been sitting for more than a day. My question is....why don't they trap some of the feral hogs here in Texas (reducing that population) and reintroduce them in Guam? Hogs eat snakes. Guam has too many snakes. Texas has too many feral hogs (adaptable, too!). Hawaii has zero snake population due to the introduction of hogs. Hmmm....
ReplyDeleteIt never works out well when alien species are introduced to control another problem species. Feral hogs are dangerous and incredibly destructive.
DeleteYeah, I know, but it worked out well for Hawaii, and IIRC, the hog-hunting season is pretty much year-round. Feral hogs are easier to spot (been hiking in Hawaii while stationed there, they are rather noisy in the underbrush) than snakes, and easier to shoot (bigger target), so if given a choice, I think I'd choose the pigs vs. the snakes. You get more meat off the pigs, too.
DeleteI wondered if they make acceptable bbq...
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