Good for nothing – Imported in the late 1970s to reduce the viper population, mongooses mistook the target, attacking rabbits
They preferred to feed on endangered local rabbits rather than eliminate the venomous snakes they were supposed to hunt… Mongooses are no longer welcome on one of Japan’s subtropical islands. So much so that the country recently announced that it had wiped them out altogether.
The story begins in the late 1970s when about thirty of these furry predators were imported to Amami Oshima, a UNESCO World Heritage Island. Their mission: to reduce the population of habu, a viper whose bite can be fatal to humans. Except that very quickly, the mongooses showed their inability to adapt to the reptiles’ agenda.
“It is said that the mongooses, which are active during the day, rarely came into contact with the habu snakes, which are nocturnal,” explained a local official. But these creatures soon became very hungry. And to survive, they found nothing better than to turn to the island’s rabbits, classified as endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Oops…
A long eradication program
By 2000, the mongoose population had exploded to reach around 10,000 individuals(…) - 20minutes
Also read:
Japan: Teenager commits suicide by jumping off the roof of a shopping mall, killing a passerby below
Japan: Aging Chinese Panda Couple Return Home
Japan: Typhoon Shanshan devastates part of Kyushu island
