The inadvertent introduction of ship rats onto the previously rodent-free Big South Cape Island (in the foreground) off Stewart Island around 1962 precipitated an ecological disaster. The rat population irrupted and remained high for at least three years after which two native birds, a species of short-tailed bat and a flightless weevil had become extinct. The episode provides a sad lesson about the danger of accidental introductions of rodents to pristine islands.
ROD MORRIS
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Bibliographic details
Forest and Bird, Issue 279, 1 February 1996, Page 22
Word Count
74The inadvertent introduction of ship rats onto the previously rodent-free Big South Cape Island (in the foreground) off Stewart Island around 1962 precipitated an ecological disaster. The rat population irrupted and remained high for at least three years after which two native birds, a species of short-tailed bat and a flightless weevil had become extinct. The episode provides a sad lesson about the danger of accidental introductions of rodents to pristine islands. ROD MORRIS Forest and Bird, Issue 279, 1 February 1996, Page 22
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