Where is Marion Island located? Extermination plans in making to prevent mice population from eating seabirds

On Marion Island, which is close to Antarctica, conservationists are preparing for a large-scale operation to combat a mice infestation as it is endangering the region's rare biodiversity.

To ensure success, conservationists are now organizing mass eradication, utilizing helicopters and hundreds of tons of rodent poison. They will dump these over the entire 115 square miles, or 297 square kilometers, of Marion Island.

Located around 1,190 miles, or 1,920 km, southeast of Cape Town, Marion Island is one of the two Prince Edward Islands situated in the southern Indian Ocean. A meteorological station was established in 1948 on Marion Island by South Africa, which had declared control over the islands in 1947. Other than that, the islands remain deserted. However, now the mice population is wreaking havoc.

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Marion Island is filled with mice

Marion Island is situated in the southern Indian Ocean, some 2300 kilometers southeast of Cape Town, and is a member of the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Island group. The bigger of the two Prince Edward Islands, Marion Island, serves as an important global nesting ground for seabirds and other species.

Sealers and whalers visited Marion Island, where they hunted for the island's vast marine megafauna. Early in the 19th century, stowaway mice managed to get onto the island during these voyages. These invasive animals have decimated local invertebrate populations, degraded island habitats, and more lately, started scavenging seabirds for food.

Dr. Anton Wolfaardt, the manager of the project, informed AP News that due to climate change, these creatures are now procreating and wreaking havoc as they are overcrowding and consuming seabirds.

On the other hand, the Prince Edward Islands are a wildlife sanctuary because of their position and the extremely productive surrounding waters. In addition, it also has approximately 30 bird species with internationally significant populations. Moreover, some of these birds are unique to the world, including the species called Wandering Albatrosses.

Hence, to protect these birds and the ecosystem, conservationists came up with the idea of mass destruction. The process is called Mouse-Free Marion. Its goal is to exterminate these creatures. The population of seabirds and the pure ecosystem of the nature reserve are suffering greatly as a result of these animals.

Marion Island is home to an estimated one million or more mice. Invertebrates and seabirds, both adults and chicks in the nests, are becoming their main sources of food. To guarantee the operation's success, hundreds of tons of rodent poison will be dropped over the island's 115 square miles via helicopters.

The project’s official website has also stated that the scope and severity of these attacks are growing. Many species are predicted to become locally extinct in the absence of intervention. Eliminating mice from Marion Island is an urgent and immediate conservation priority that will save the island's vulnerable flora and fauna, as well as the ecosystem as a whole.

The eradication is thought to be essential for the ecosystem of the larger Southern Ocean and the unoccupied South African area. If successful, it would be the biggest eradication of its kind.

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Do mice eat birds?

These creatures are omnivores even though they prefer vegetarian food for the most part. When it comes to meat, birds are their primary target. Even though they rarely kill and consume mature birds, they are well known for robbing coops and nests of their eggs and chicks.

However, house mice consume a wide variety of plant materials in the wild, such as seeds, roots, leaves, and stems. They will also consume meat if it is available, as well as insects, including cockroaches, beetles, and caterpillars.