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U.S. government bombs Guam with frozen mice to kill snakes Jeremy Hance mongabay.com September 28, 2010
The idea is to poison snakes by getting them to ingest the acetaminophen-containing rats. In sufficient dosages, Acetaminophen, the primary ingredient in Tylenol, can cause liver failure in snakes (and humans, for that matter). While it might not seem difficult to purge an island of snakes, the snake's habit of dwelling high in the rainforest canopy has so far thwarted efforts to rid the island of the pest. The difficulty of reaching the snakes' habitat has led to the idea of mice-bombs as a possible solution.
The mice-bomb program is currently underway with Dan Vice, assistant state director of the US Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services in the Pacific, telling Radio Australia that 250 poisoned mice have so far been dropped in a trial run. Researchers are now working to see if the preliminary mice-bombs worked. An effective snake eradication result would deliver relief for the island's beleaguered native bird species—six of which have gone extinct since the brown tree snakes appeared. It might also cut bills for taxpayers: the brown tree snake costs $1-4 million dollars in direct damages and lost productivity per yer due mostly to snaked-caused power outages, which occur at a rate of roughly one every three days.
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Tags: Invasive Species Pacific Islands united states snakes reptiles herps green environment jeremy hance animals wildlife strange islands tropical forests rainforest animals rainforest conservation Environmental news index | RSS | News Feed | Twitter | Home Advertisements:
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