Midway Atoll: US to strafe crucial nesting area for 3m birds with poison to eradicate mice
Source: The Guardian
US to strafe crucial nesting area for 3m birds with poison to eradicate mice
Midway Atoll to be bombarded with rodenticide after scientists and volunteers discovered seabirds with open wounds
Oliver Milman in New York
Fri 24 May 2019 06.00 BST Last modified on Fri 24 May 2019 15.25 BST
Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean was the scene of a crucial naval battle in the second world war. It is now set for a very different sort of conflict – a bombing campaign to rid the area of mice.
The US government is moving ahead with a plan to strafe Midway with poison aimed at eradicating mice that are on a deadly rampage through one of the world’s most important sites for seabirds.
The three low-lying islands, fringing coral reefs and lagoons that make up the Midway Atoll refuge, located about 1,200 miles north-west of Honolulu, cover an area only slightly larger than New York City’s Central Park but are a crucial nesting area for around 3 million birds, including albatrosses and terns.
Over 70% of the world’s Laysan albatross are found on Midway including Wisdom, a 68-year-old creature believed to be the world’s oldest known wild bird. This year Wisdom hatched her 37th chick.
But in 2015 it became clear this Pacific idyll was under threat after scientists and volunteers discovered nesting birds with open wounds on their heads, necks and backs. Mice inadvertently introduced to Midway are responsible for the bites, with their victims essentially eaten alive. Dozens of seabirds have died or abandoned their nests as a result of the attacks.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/24/midway-atoll-birds-albatross-terns-mice
