This World Heritage Site Is Now Pest-Free

Once overpopulated by pests, Macquarie Island managed to completely eradicate unwanted animals in order for the Southern Ocean nation’s ecosystem and biodiversity to bounce back, in a grand-scale environmental recovery project to inspire many to come.

“This one management action, the eradication, has saved entire communities and species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world,” states Dr. Justine Shaw of the Queensland University of Technology.

A Unesco world heritage site since 1997, Macquarie Island desperately needed a recovery project to rid the land of its rabbits, cats, rats, and mice introduced in the 1800s by sailors. In 2000, the last feral cat was eliminated. In 2010, poison drops were introduced to eliminate the excessive number of black rats and mice. And in 2011, calicivirus – a rabbit hemorrhagic disease – was released to contain the rabbit population which reached 300,000 at its peak. Since 2014, the 34km-long by 5km-wide island is officially pest free. Endemic animal species like the royal penguin can thrive, and floral species too, including giant tussock grass, mega herbs like Macquarie Island that can grow taller than a human, two endemic orchids, and a tiny herb called Huperzia australiana. The $16 million project is a good investment since isolated islands are hubs for biodiversity.