Alaska's Rat Island Rat-Free After 229 Years
Rats have ruled the island since 1780, when they jumped off a sinking Japanese ship and terrorized all but the largest birds on the island. In order to kill the rates, helicopters dropped poison on the island. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says some birds have returned to the island.
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RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne.
Alaska's Rat Island has finally become rat-less again nearly 230 years after a Japanese ship wreck sent its vermin scurrying onto the island. The rats eliminated all but the biggest native birds. Now, the Fish and Wildlife Service and conservation groups have reclaimed the island by poisoning all the rats -they hope - rats are pretty resilient. So far birds, including Aleutian cackling geese and black oystercatchers are nesting once again.
It's MORNING EDITION.
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