Navy Bombs Guam With Frozen Mice

[j_h_smith]

There are 2 important parts to this article.
First, I guess the snake population must be abundant for this action to be taken.
Second, did you know that feeding a snake acetaminophen would kill them?

Jim Smith



In a ploy to rid Guam of its population of invasive brown tree snakes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is bombing the island with drugged frozen mice, military news outlet Stars and Stripes reported.

Using Naval Base Guam as a starting point, scientists drop mice packed with acetaminophen from helicopters into the jungle canopy.

The drug -- commonly found in Tylenol -- provided a regulatory advantage because it had already undergone extensive testing, Dan Vice, assistant state director of USDA Wildlife Services in Hawaii, Guam and the Pacific Islands, told Stars and Stripes.

Guam’s snake problem began in the 1980s, when the creatures arrived on the island accidentally in military cargo. The mildly venomous snakes can grow up to 10 feet long and, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources for the State of Hawaii, are the leading cause of endangerment for some of Guam’s native animals.

“The discovery that snakes will die when they eat acetaminophen was a huge step forward,” Anne Brooke, conservation resources program manager for Naval Facilities Command Marianas told Stars and Stripes. “The problem was how you get the snakes to eat it.”

The solution was to drop the mice into the snakes’ natural habitat, the branches of trees in the jungles of Guam. By outfitting the mice with cardboard wings and green party streams, the bait could float down to the jungle and catch on the branches. The result is a hanging, deadly snack for the snakes.

Researchers began testing the system at the beginning of September, dropping 200 mice into 20 acres around the base, Stars and Stripes reported.

The effectiveness of the drop will offer insights into how well it might work elsewhere on the island -- and whether it might be a key to solving a longtime ecological problem, Vice said.

[jbean7916]

hmmmmm. Interesting read. Though it makes me wonder how many poor snakes they tested on to find out what would kill them

[coldblooded]

Hm. I wonder how it will effect other animals that may eat them?

I am not familiar with the native wildlife on Guam, and I do think that something definitely needs to be done about the invasive species if at all possible, but you have to wonder what kind of secondary damage this may cause.

[Br. Francis]

I know Tylenol is bad for dogs and they live on Guam too. But my friend lived there for long time and said the damage done by the snakes is serious.

[wolfy-hound]

I wonder if the snakes will bother to eat cold dead mice? Or how many native species WILL eat cold dead mice stuffed with tylenol?

The idea that they said they put wings and streamers on them makes me wonder if it's a hoax article. Something like Bat Boy Overdosed on Tylenol After Wedding with Elvis Clone!!!!

[Russ Lawson]

Yeah, brown tree snakes were pretty nasty for the avian species of Guam. I recall reading that Guam has a higher concentration of snakes per unit area than anywhere else on the planet. If this is true and actually works, it'll beat the heck out of the USGS's attempts to control the number of the snakes on the island.

[j_h_smith]

I wonder who was the first person to realize acetaminophen would kill snakes? I find it strange that it would kill snakes. Amazing stuff.

Jim Smith

[Vypyrz]

I wonder who was the first person to realize acetaminophen would kill snakes? I find it strange that it would kill snakes. Amazing stuff.

Jim Smith

That would explain why everybody recommends "Neosporin without painkiller"...

[j_h_smith]

That would explain why everybody recommends "Neosporin without painkiller"...

Yes, but I'd still like to know who discovered this and what were they trying to accomplish?

Jim Smith

[gman8585]

Frozen mammal warfare