Something very exciting is happening in New Zealand’s sub-antarctic this winter. Something that has been a long time coming. Something that will bring us a step closer to an important goal – pest free sub-antarctic islands.
The Antipodes Islands are one of New Zealand’s five sub-antarctic groups. Of the five, they and the Auckland Islands are the only ones with pest species remaining. In the case of the Auckland Islands, it is a mix of wild pigs, cats, and mice – spread over 510 square kilometres of rugged, glacier carved terrain. The Antipodes, however, are home only to mice. At 20 square kilometres, it’s also a much less daunting task. But any eradication attempt in the sub-antarctic is a daunting task, with the wild Southern Ocean to contend with. Kiwi’s are pretty good at eradications though, and after the success with clearing Campbell Island of rats in 2001, we’ve exported our skills to help with much larger sub-antarctic projects like Macquarie Island, and South Georgia. So this winter is the beginning of the end for mice on the Antipodes.
The Million Dollar Mouse project is finally going ahead, with the team having just arrived at the island on Friday. It’s been a long journey from the conception of this project, to the ecological monitoring and non-toxic bait trials in 2013, plans needing postponing earlier this year – but everything is now set to go! You can follow the process on the Million Dollar Mouse blog, which is a great connection to the team on this remote island. All the information about the eradication program is available on the website as well.
Conditions are tricky for offloading the gear needed for the eradication, which includes helicopters and 65.5 tonnes of bait, as there is no safe harbour at the Antipodes for a ship to shelter in. The weather in the Southern Ocean also makes the job difficult, as the helicopters need reasonably calm weather to accurately spread the bait. But this challenging project will ultimately be the largest single-species eradication of mice to date – a huge achievement. And there’s a very good reason for doing it.
The Antipodes are home to some remarkable flora and fauna, including two species of endemic parakeet. The largest is the Antipodes Island Parakeet, an all-green bird of a much more solid build than the other New Zealand parakeets. I’ve seen these birds at Auckland Zoo and in Invercargill, where captive populations are held. They’re boisterous birds with truly gorgeous plumage, flashes of blue on their wings as they fly, and piercing orange eyes (which is why I couldn’t resist adding so many photos of them!). All of these photos were taken at Auckland Zoo – I’ve never been to the Antipodes (I would love to, obviously). The other species is Reischek’s Parakeet – which looks similar to the Red-crowned parakeet, but may actually be more closely related to the Orange-fronted parakeet!
There are also endemic pipit and snipe subspecies, and twenty-one species of seabird breed on the island – including the amazing Antipodean albatross, one of the wandering albatross group. For some amazing photos from the Antipodes, see the gallery of Tui De Roy’s photos on the MDM website. As well as birds, there are native and endemic plants and invertebrates on the island.
Mice are an underestimated menace, and on isolated islands they can do a lot of damage. On the Antipodes they’ve been implicated in the extinction of two invertebrate species, as well as competing with birds for food and damaging the flora. While the harrowing examples of mice eating seabirds alive from Gough Island haven’t been recorded on the Antipodes, it’s a danger that eradicating the mice can prevent. Protecting our biodiversity is an important task – and if we don’t look after our sub-antarctic islands, no-one else will.
Funding for the Million Dollar Mouse project was a combination of public crowdfunding raising $250,000, matched by the Morgan Foundation, and supplemented by the World Wildlife Fund and the Department of Conservation. Many groups have supported the project, including Island Conservation and Heritage Expeditions. In 2018, the island will be monitored for any sign of remaining mice – so it will be a while before we know whether or not the eradication is successful. But things are looking good! New Zealand has an amazing history of pest eradication, so while it’s a challenging task, we’ve got the knowledge and expertise for the job.
The absolute best of luck to the team on the island, we wish you favourable weather and an all-round amazing experience!
