World’s largest rodent eradication project a success:
photographed whilst working on the South Georgia Heritage Trust’s Rat Eradication Project in South Georgia, Antarctica on February 07 2018. Photo: Oliver Prince
• The UK Overseas Territory of South Georgia is officially declared free of rodents for the first time since humans arrived on the island over 200 years ago
• Scottish-based charity the South Georgia Heritage Trust and its USA counterpart the Friends of South Georgia Island raised £10Million to finance the Habitat Restoration Project to eradicate invasive rodents
• Covering 108,723 hectares (1087 km2), the Habitat Restoration Project is more than eight times larger than any other rodent eradication area ever tackled anywhere in the world
• Three rodent detection dogs covered a total of 2420km, with their two female dog handlers walking 1608km, searching for signs of rats and mice as part of a comprehensive monitoring survey
Read full press release here
One of the members of Team Rat has published a super series of photographs of his time with the Habitat Restoration team which culminated in the recent announcement that South Georgia is rat free. Find the photos at the link below…
News Coverage
News Articles:
- The Courier: IN PICTURES: The amazing story of how Dundee charity’s ‘Team Rat’ turned around 200 years of man-made environmental damage on South Georgia
- BBC: Rats driven from South Georgia’s wildlife paradise
- ITV: South Georgia declared free of bird killing invasive rats
- GSGSSI: South Georgia Heritage Trust Declares South Georgia Rodent Free
- The Guardian: South Georgia declared rat free centuries rodent devastation
- The Independent: Rare birds return to remote South Georgia Island after successful rat eradication programme
- The Times: South Georgia’s birds return after rat invaders are killed off
- National Geographic: Large Island Declared Rat-Free in Biggest Removal Success
- NPR: Massive eradication effort ends rodents reign of terror on forbidding isle
- Aspen Daily News: Local woman delves into sub antarctic reclamation
- New Scientist: The birds of South Georgia are finally safe from marauding rats
- Science Mag: Rat begone: Record eradication effort rids sub-Antarctic island of invasive rodents
- The Oldham Times: South Georgia declared free of bird killing invasive rats
- BT: South Georgia declared free of bird killing invasive rats
- Express: Remote island FREED of infestation
- FT: Victory declared in South Georgia rodent eradication (subscription required)
- Daily Mail: South Georgia declared free bird killing invasive rats
- Bird Guides: South Georgia declared rodent free
- Sky: Rats driven off British Island South Georgia in worlds largest rodent cull
- Press and Journal: South Georgia rid rodents after-mammoth project spearheaded by Dundee charity
- Irish Times: Remote island of South Georgia declared rat free after over 200 years
- Portlincoln Times: Local helps rat purge
- The Scotsman.com: Britain’s biggest bird sanctuary rescued by rat cull
- Ecowatch: South Georgia rodents
- Newsweek: Atlantic island wins war against rats devoured rare bird colonies
- Mongabay: South Georgia declared rat free in largest ever rodent eradication program
- Mercopress: South Georgia declared rat free four year successful program to eradicate invasive rodents
- ODT: Wanaka pilot helps rid island rodents
- Independent.ie: Wildlife rich South Georgia declared ratfree after centuries of rodent invasion
- RTE.ie: South Georgia
- Gizmodo: South Georgia Island has finally been certified free of rodents
- Express: Rats remote island
- Heraldscotland: Remote island is rat free after 10m charity project
- Mix96: Rats driven off British island South Georgia in worlds largest rodent cull
- Inews: Eradicating rats seabirds survive
- Ozy: e-rat-ication
- Lavanguardia: La primera isla del mundo que consigue erradicar a las ratas y los ratones
- TG24 Sky It: Antartide Isola Georgia liberata da topi
- Kopalniawiedzy.pl/: Georgia Poludniowa gryzon szczur mysz trucizna gatunek inwazyjny
- NI.nl: Ratten grootste verdelgingsactie ooit verdreven van zuid Atlantisch eiland
- Levif.be: Apres 250 ans de ravages les rats ont ete eradiques de Georgie du Sud
- Jurnalul.ro: Insula Georgia de Sud eliberata de rozatoare pentru prima data in ultimii 200 de ani
TV:
Radio:
Habitat Restoration Steering committee chair Mike Richardson interviews