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Henderson Island Rats are increasing twice

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Image of Henderson Island Rats are increasing twice

Henderson Island is a remote coral island in the South Pacific. There are no human inhabitants, but the island is home to an abundance of wildlife. Henderson Island contains birds, invertebrates, and plants that do not exist anywhere else in the world. The island also has a serious rat problem.Polynesian rats were introduced to the island by sailors approximately 800 years ago.

Researchers who visit the island today have to be careful with their food packaging because a rat can chew through a tent to reach the snacks inside. Also, the rats regularly eat baby chicks. Approximately 95 percent of chicks that hatch on Henderson Island are eaten by rats within one week. This includes hatchlings of the Henderson petrel, a ground-nesting seabird that is already endangered.To save the island’s native inhabitants, a plan to get rid of the rats was enacted. In 2011, 80 tons of pellets loaded with rat poison were dropped on the island. The poison seemed to be a success at first, with the number of rats on the island dropping to less than 100.However, they did not rid the island of every rat and these creatures proliferate very quickly. Canon Support UK

A female rat can have a litter of six pups every few months. Female pups only take two or three months to mature before they begin having their own litters. As a result, the rat population on Henderson Island is now somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000—the same level before the poisoning.Acer Laptop Support