Endangered Atlantic Yellow-nosed
Albatross have been pushed to the brink of extinction by invasive mice on Gough
Island in the South Atlantic Ocean. But, that will soon change. The Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds is taking action to protect the albatross by
removing invasive mice.
This article contains descriptions
and a video of mice predating on live birds and may be upsetting.
By: Kate Lawrence
On the evening of 20 February
2018, I watched an Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross chick die before my eyes, as
it was eaten alive by mice. I arrived at nest 14 at 9.30pm. Mice were feeding
on the chick’s already open back-wound by 10 pm. And less than one hour later,
the chick from nest 14 was dead.
In this line of work, you see
plenty of dead animals. On Gough Island, we regularly see the remains of dead
birds: albatross that crash land during extreme wind events; adults standing
over dead chicks soon after hatching (cause of death unknown); and scattered
carcasses of burrowing petrels and prions left after skua predation. Eggs and
chicks and adult birds die of natural causes all the time. Death and predation
are part of the natural ecosystem. But on Gough Island, mice are not.
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