Rat Island, part of the Aleutians in Alaska, had been infested with rats since a Japanese ship wrecked there in the 1700s. It is now rat free after a mass poisoning campaign proved successful. The project did have a few glitches, however, including the death of 43 Bald Eagles. The sacrifice seems well worth it if seabirds start breeding on the island in numbers like they do on other, nearby, rat-free islands.
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy, their son, Desmond Shearwater, and their indoor cat, B.B. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.
In a related story…
While environmentalists worldwide view the riddance of rats from the Aleutians as an enormous success, members of AREA (American Rat Enthusiast Association) are devasted.
Wondering how long the poison maintains potency (even after being ingested by the rats), or what was left laying around.
Wes, if the poison used is 1080 or something comparable, it will dissolve rather quickly both within the rat remains and if it is laying around outside.