General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsUS gov't to air-drop toxic mice on Guam snakes
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AP) Dead mice laced with painkillers are about to rain down on Guam's jungle canopy. They are scientists' prescription for a headache that has caused the tiny U.S. territory misery for more than 60 years: the brown tree snake.
Most of Guam's native bird species are extinct because of the snake, which reached the island's thick jungles by hitching rides from the South Pacific on U.S. military ships shortly after World War II. There may be 2 million of the reptiles on Guam now, decimating wildlife, biting residents and even knocking out electricity by slithering onto power lines.
More than 3,000 miles away, environmental officials in Hawaii have long feared a similar invasion which in their case likely would be a "snakes on a plane" scenario. That would cost the state many vulnerable species and billions of dollars, but the risk will fall if Guam's air-drop strategy succeeds.
"We are taking this to a new phase," said Daniel Vice, assistant state director of U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services in Hawaii, Guam, and the Pacific Islands. "There really is no other place in the world with a snake problem like Guam."
more
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/us-govt-air-drop-toxic-mice-guam-snakes
MadHound
(34,179 posts)neverforget
(9,437 posts)"The strategy takes advantage of the snake's two big weaknesses. Unlike most snakes, brown tree snakes are happy to eat prey they didn't kill themselves, and they are highly vulnerable to acetaminophen, which is harmless to humans."
MadHound
(34,179 posts)Unless other animals/pets are effected by acetaminophen.
tblue37
(65,528 posts)was five-line skinks (alive), they happily chowed down on warmed up previously frozen pinkie or fuzzy mice.