On 24 March 2018, the Anguilla National Trust (ANT), in collaboration with New Zealand-based Wildlife International Management Ltd. (WMIL), began an island restoration programme on Prickly Pear East and West. Led by Ms Elizabeth (Biz) Bell of WMIL, a team of young Anguillians undertook the difficult task of removing invasive brown rats from Prickly Pear cays, an internationally recognised Key Biodiversity Area and Important Bird Area.
The rat eradication operation involved positioning 435 temporary bait stations made of plastic water bottles donated by the Anguilla community across Prickly Pear East and West. Interspersed amongst the bait stations were 870 monitoring points. Both bait and non-toxic wax monitoring blocks were checked daily for signs of rats. While baiting and monitoring of the cays took place over a period of eight weeks to ensure that every rat had in fact been removed, there were no signs of rats after 21 days of the eradication operation. Interestingly, the highest concentration of rats appeared to be on the difficult-to-access Prickly Pear West rather than the more-visited Prickly Pear East. Reasons for this may be due to the higher numbers of nesting seabirds on Prickly Pear West that may have supported the rat population, particularly after Hurricane Irma when much of the vegetation had been damaged.
Following international practice, the cays will be routinely monitored by ANT staff and volunteers for any signs of rats over the next year. Ms Bell will return to Anguilla next year to conduct an intensive final check of the island for signs of rats before the cays will be officially declared rat-free. Biosecurity monitoring of the two cays, however, will continue indefinitely by the ANT to ensure that rats do not reinvade the island.
The ANT would like remind members of the public that everyone has a role in ensuring that the Prickly Pear cays remain rat-free by ensuring that these rodents are not inadvertently brought to the island as stowaways on their boat, in their bags, boxes, or containers. If a rat is found on a vessel headed to or at the Prickly Pear cays, the animal should not be thrown overboard alive: rats are excellent swimmers and can easily swim to shore. Any sightings of rats on the Prickly Pear cays should be reported to the Anguilla National Trust immediately by calling 497 5297 or 476 2170.
This island restoration initiative is part of a larger project aimed at improving the management of the Prickly Pear cays, in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Fauna & Flora International, Wildlife Management International Ltd., University of Roehampton, Prickly Pear landowners, and other stakeholders. The three-year project began in April 2017 and is funded by the UK-based Darwin Plus funding mechanism. Bait for the rat eradication operation was donated by Syngenta and the permanent bait stations that have been established around both Prickly Pear East and West were donated by US-based Bell Laboratories.
For more information about the Prickly Pear Marine Park management project or the rat eradication initiative, please contact the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources at fisheriesmr@gov.ai or the Anguilla National Trust at 497 5297 or antadmin@anguillanet.com.
– Press Release
18 June, 2018
