Invasive species are one of the great challenges to conservationists and government wildlife agencies. Even people who are not animal defenders can be severely impacted. Efforts to control or remove invasive species can have dramatic impact. Recently, a Caribbean island being ruined by invasive goats and rats has been saved.
According to The Cool Down the island of Redonda is uninhabited by humans. It was a haven for a variety of seabirds and other animals, some unique. Human visitors arrived in the 19th Century, apparently bringing invasive goats and rats. The goats consumed the vegetation and the rats killed and ate the wildlife.
According to Britannica:
“Redonda, the smallest of the three islands that constitute the nation of Antigua and Barbuda. Redonda is located among the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea, approximately 35 miles (55 km) from the nearest point in Antigua, to the east. Redonda is a rugged, uninhabited rock, the remnant of a volcanic cone, 0.5 square mile (1.3 square km) in area and rising to nearly 1,000 feet (305 meters) above sea level, with steep cliffs on all sides.” (Links in original)
The inaccessible island was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493. The first landing was recorded in 1687. Since the island was covered with guano it was commercially valuable for phosphate mining. That ceased afted World War One.
The people of Antigua and Barbuda have removed the invasive goats and rats. Two years later the biomass of the island has increased 2000 per cent, observers say.
Rats ( generus rattus) are a problem all over the world. They are destructive even in areas as unhospitable as Alaska, where they have gained foot holds in the comparative warmth of the cities. Extensive control efforts are under way.
Rats are one of the most damaging invasive species in the world and are difficult to control because they are commensal. The word comes from Latin and refers to sharing the same table, which is what rats do. Rats live very close to humans and depend on human negligence and waste for their existence. These rodents are legendary disease bearers and they destroy far more food than they eat. The rats in Alaska came with sailors from other countries and have a toehold in the state. Weather is a big help in trying to keep them at bay because the extreme temperatures are too much for them. There are native rodents, including muskrats, but they are adapted to the climate unlike the invaders.
The goat (Capra hircus) is something of a different story. Domesticated thousands of years ago it is a pre-eminent livestock animal worldwide. Goats are often used to create firebreaks. That is because they eat almost anything and nibble vegetation to the ground, as they did in Redonda.