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Invasive mice threaten survival of bird species on Marion Island

Wandering albatrosses on Marion Island. (Courtesy of Anton Wolfaardt)
Wandering albatrosses on Marion Island. (Courtesy of Anton Wolfaardt)

Invasive mice are breeding out of control on Marion Island, an important ecosystem for seabirds.

Climate change has made the island, in the Southern Ocean between South Africa and Antarctica, more hospitable to the rodents that are attacking birds and could cause the local extinction of more than half of the 28 species of birds that live there.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks to Anton Wolfaardt, a conservationist and project manager of the Mouse-Free Marion Project, about the plan to exterminate the mice on Marion Island.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.