“Palmerston Island in the South Pacific is now rat-free, leading to surging crop yields and biodiversity,” reports The Doomslayer.
The New Zealand Department of Conservation explains:
A rat eradication operation took place on the atoll’s Home and Cooks islets over August and September 2023. Monitoring to confirm the atoll’s rat-free status was recently completed, with trail cameras and traps showing no evidence whatsoever of rats.
Arthur Neale, the atoll’s Executive Officer, says Palmerston’s rat-free status means the world to him and everyone else who lives on the atoll…
“Benefits from the rat eradication are already evident. Our food security has improved massively. Fruits like guava, mango and star fruit are now abundant and free from rat damage. Our nu mangaro (a coconut tree variety) are thriving. Vegetables, especially cucumbers, have seen an astonishing increase in yield.
“We’re very excited to see more native species now rats are no longer eating them. Seedlings of tamanu and puka are increasing and we’re seeing and hearing more birds. Wood pigeons and red-tailed tropic birds have returned to Home Islet. Crabs and lizards appear to be more abundant.”
Brazil’s rarest parrots have made a comeback, avoiding extinction.
In Florida, populations of manatees and sea turtles have rebounded.
Fish species are rebounding off the coast of California due to their young finding a sanctuary in abandoned oil rigs.
Scientists recently discovered that the world’s coral reefs are more plentiful than previously thought.
In 2023, a baby beaver was born in London, the first beaver birth there in 400 years, and carnivorous plants were reintroduced to English wetlands. And a dog discovered a species of mole long thought to be extinct, De Winton’s golden mole.
