This undated photos shows two wandering albatrosses on Marion Island, part of the Prince Edwards Islands, a South African territory in the southern Indian Ocean near Antarctica. Mice accidentally introduced to a remote island near Antarctica 200 years ago are breeding out of control because of climate change, and they are eating seabirds and causing major harm in a special nature reserve with “unique biodiversity.
The island is home to globally significant populations of nearly 30 bird species and a rare undisturbed habitat for wandering albatrosses — with their 10-foot wingspan — and many others. Rough estimates indicate there are more than a million mice on Marion Island. They are feeding on invertebrates and, more and more, on seabirds — both chicks in their nests and adults.
Wolfaardt said four to six helicopters will likely be used to drop up to 550 tons of rodenticide bait across the island. Pilots will be given exact flight lines and Wolfaardt's team will be able to track the drop using GPS mapping. The department said the eradication of mice was “essential if the unique biodiversity of the island is to be preserved."Wolfaardt said the amount of planning needed means a likely go-ahead date in 2027. The project also needs to raise around US$25 million — some of which has been funded by the South African government — and get final regulatory approvals from authorities.They were already a pest for researchers in the 1940s, so five domestic cats were introduced.
Lolling with bright blue yoga mats, sleeping masks and travel pillows, hundreds of Mexicans laid sprawled out on the ground at the base of the city’s iconic Monument to the Revolution to take a nap. Dubbed the "mass siesta," the event was in commemoration of World Sleep Day.