The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Dundee charity success in rodent-removal task
Rats and mice have been eradicated on South Georgia
Dundee charity South Georgia Heritage Trust has eradicated rodents on the subAntarctic island for the first time since humans arrived more than 200 years ago.
Over the winter, the final examination of the British Overseas Territory was carried out with the help of three sniffer dogs, named “Team Rat”, which confirmed the extinction of the rodents.
Invasive rats and mice arrived on the island on whaling ships, many there to find fuel for Dundee’s jute mills, and preyed upon native species of groundnesting and burrowing birds.
In 2011, the Dundee charity started the world’s largest project to remove the invasive species to save South Georgia’s wildlife, including threatened pipits and pintails, which are already showing signs of recovery.
In an incredible feat of endurance reminiscent of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s epic crossing of the island just over 100 years ago, the handlers walked a total of 1,608km, with the dogs covering a total of 2,420km,.
This distance, roughly the equivalent of a return trip from London to Dundee, is all the more impressive given the rugged terrain of South Georgia.
Together, the handlers climbed the equivalent ascent of Mount Everest eight times over, and the dogs climbed Mount Everest 12.9 times over.
Mike Richardson, chairman of the charity’s restoration project steering committee, said: “Thanks to the out- standing work of the passionate and committed members of Team Rat and the Board of Trustees, the birds of South Georgia are free from rodents.
“The trust can now turn its attention and efforts to working with the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands on conservation of a different kind.”
Lorne Gardiner, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the government department division, said: “The rodent eradication work completed by the South Georgia Heritage Trust is undoubtedly among the most remarkable of recent island conservation efforts.”