“” have flooded a small remote island and “eat the birds alive” creating scenes reminiscent of a thriller film. Marion Island in the sub-arbital Indian Ocean is part of South Africa, not inhabited by people, except staff living in a research station and of course zombie mice. But the island hosts more than a million rodents that feed on the local population of the albatross. Rats sit on birds and eat their flesh while their victims are still alive, after identifying their prey in the night hours. Birds that succeed and survive the attacks often develop deadly infections from their wounds. And not only albatross are at risk – chicks from dozens of different species of birds enter the target. Andrea Angel, head of the Albatross working group from Birdlife South Africa, was a member of the team who coined the term “zombie mice”. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so freaky. They’ve taken their scalp. The mice are constantly on the birds at night – on their heads, their eyes and crawl all over them. It’s painful to see it and you know it’s going to die. It’s heartbreaking,” he told Nine.com.au. Now, the South African government is working with organizations that intend to spray 550 tons of poison on the island with at least six helicopters. The Mouse-Free programme has received funding of £19.6 million and aims to eliminate vicious rodents. The mice first came to the island in the early 1800s. They were transported to Marion by accident, after boarding a seal hunter ship. Initially mice and local wildlife could coexist, but as temperatures began to increase in the 2000s and the population of mice flourished in winter, their number began to multiply – and their usual food sources declined.
Marion Island: Rats – zombies eat live birds and their newborns
—
in World