It's ten years since a world-first eradication campaign rid Macquarie Island of rabbits and rodents. Today, the sub-Antarctic island is transformed, with tussock grass flourishing and hillsides carpeted in green.

2 years ago

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Rodents were predating on invertebrates and eggs, and hillside erosion – exacerbated by rabbits – was leading to landslides that in one instance, killed hundreds of king penguins at Lusitania Bay. Acknowledging the seriousness of that threat, in 2007 the Tasmanian and Federal governments funded an ambitious three-year, $25 million campaign to wipe out all three pest species at once. It relied on a targeted strategy of aerial baiting, release of the calicivirus, and dogs to ensure the last of the rabbits and rodents were eradicated. Dogs and their handlers scoured the island twice over, covering more than 90,000km until in 2014, no rat, mouse or rabbit had been seen for the required two-year period and the island was declared pest free.
Macquarie Island’s astounding recovery, ten years on from rats, mice and rabbits
A scientist extracts ice from the ice core drill, with the campsite and Hägglunds in the background.
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