Originally published May 11, 2017
at 5:30 pm Updated May 15, 2017 at 6:31 am
The idea is to give a second
chance to the distinctive birds that once ruled this South Pacific nation
before humans arrived, bringing predators along. The goal is so ambitious it's
been compared to putting a man on the moon
NICK PERRY
The Associated Press
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New
Zealand has set itself an environmental goal so ambitious it’s been compared to
putting a man on the moon: ridding the entire nation of every last rat, possum
and stoat.
The idea is to give a second
chance to the distinctive birds that once ruled this South Pacific nation. When
New Zealand split away from the supercontinent Gondwanaland 85 million years
ago, predatory mammals hadn’t evolved. That allowed birds to thrive. Some gave
up flight altogether to strut about the forest floor.
Then humans arrived, bringing
predators with them. Rats stowed away on ships. Settlers introduced brushtail
possums — an Australian species unrelated to North American opossums — for the
fur trade and weasel-like stoats to control rabbits. The pests destroyed forest
habitats and feasted on the birds and their eggs. More than 40 species of birds
died out and many others remain threatened, including the iconic kiwi.
Now people want to turn back the
clock. Yet the plan sounds impossible. How do you kill millions of vermin
across a country that’s the size of the United Kingdom? How do you ensure a few
furtive rats won’t undo all the hard work by surviving and breeding?
Scientists are talking about the
mission in military terms: choking off pests on peninsulas and then advancing
the front lines from there; developing new traps and genetic weapons; winning
the hearts and minds of children and farmers alike.
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