Recklessly: Brown Tree Snake Guam Problems

Brown Tree Snake Guam Problems

The problem of brown tree snakes. The brown tree snake or boiga irregularis originated in australia indonesia and the spice islands.

Brown Tree Snake National Invasive Species Information Center Usda

Why trojan horses only work in troy.

Brown tree snake guam problems. Brown tree snakes are causing a problem in guam. The decline in snake population may be identified as a result of depleted food resources adult mortality andor suppressed reproduction. In case youre unfamiliar with guams infamous snake problem the island is known for hosting an invasion of venomous brown snakes that have wreaked havoc on its native animal population.

The brown tree snake of guam is a slithering voracious invader. Now researchers have shown its not just the birds and rodents that have suffered the growth of new trees could be falling by as much as 92 percent thanks to the snakes appetites. Several years ago while working as an animal care technician for the usdas national wildlife research center nwrc i became intimately familiar with the case of the brown tree snake boiga irregularis.

Currently the brown tree snake population on guam is declining with an equilibrium population size predicted to be roughly 30 to 50 snakes per hectare 12 20 per acre. And now efforts being used to reduce the brown tree snake population by using dead mice a common pain killer and aerial drops. Brown tree snake problems in guam.

It evolved to live in the trees and feast on australian wildlife. The brown tree snake a native of australia papua new guinea and the solomon islands hitched a ride to guam on military transport ships shortly after world war ii. Sixty years after the brown tree snake was introduced to guam the islanders are battling an infestation that threatens the whole ecosystem.

Halting brown snakes of guam. Though poisonous the invasive. If you can get a tree snake to eat just 80 milligrams you can kill it.

The brown treesnake is a dangerous threat to the economy and ecology of guam and is the subject of a cooperative program to control snake populations on guam and prevent its spread throughout the pacific rim. But brown tree snakes have an achilles heel. But sometime between world war ii and 1952 brown tree snakes got onto the island of guam.

A frightening nuisance for those in its path. But what the snake has done to guams wildlife is the real ecological horror story. For some reason the snakes are almost uniquely sensitive to acetaminophen the active ingredient in the ubiquitous over the counter painkiller.

Robert siegel speaks with dan vice a wildlife biologist with the usda for more on this process. As 48 hours correspondent peter van sant reports this nocturnal nightmare will consume almost anything.

Guam S Brown Menace Could Spread With Military Buildup Pacific