Mice, Tylenol (acetaminophen), parachutes and Brown Tree Snakes, what reason could these seemly different items have in common? Well if you reside in the U.S territory of Guam there would be no doubt that you would be able to identify these items in relation to each other. The Brown tree snake, Boiga irregularis, has become an invasive species in Guam, native to Indo-Pacific islands including New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Northern and Eastern Australia and Eastern Indonesia; it is believed that the Brown Tree Snake reached Guam aboard cargo ships or planes around World War II. During this time in Guam the Brown Tree Snake has proliferated with abundant food sources and no natural predators. This snake single handedly or more appropriately limbless-ly has become responsible for ongoing problems on the island, including wiping out native bird populations and causing power outages by crawling into power lines. Of the 12 native bird populations on Guam, 10 are now extinct because of the Brown Tree Snake. So how do the mice, Tylenol, and parachutes play a role for this snake?
Well unfortunately there is no story book ending here, it is doom and death for both the Brown Tree Snake and the mouse who is an innocent bystander. In an effort by the USDA to control and contain the snake’s existence in Guam the USDA will poison the snakes with Tylenol via the mouse. According the Daily News Story, the dead mice will be laced with 80mg of acetaminophen (regular strength Tylenol in pill form is 325mg for one tablet) will be air dropped over the island, in close proximity to the Andersen Air Force Base; this is a foresight into the hope that the snakes would not hitch rides and find new homes in Hawaii and surrounding Pacific islands and wreak havoc there too. And what about that parachute, well it is not to insure that the mouse arrives safely at his destination, he is already dead! It is only to increase the likelihood that the brown tree snake will happen upon the lifeless mouse, not only are Brown Tree Snakes hunters they are scavengers. Since the dead mice will be outfitted with tiny parachutes and will be air dropped into the island, the parachutes will become entangled in the jungle foliage where an unwittingly, hungry tree snake will happen upon a free meal. So how does the Tylenol poison the Brown Tree Snake?
National Geographic describes what happens to the snake when the Tylenol is ingested, “the drug disrupts the oxygen-carrying ability of the snakes' hemoglobin blood proteins, they go into a coma, and then death, once ingested it typically takes about 60 hours for the drug to kill [the] snake.”(National Geographic.com)
Conservation or control? In an effort to “control” this nuisance of the Brown Tree Snake in Guam, in an effort to preserve human comfort and what is left of natural bird populations in the name of conservation is a rather lousy, slant at conservation efforts. Conservation is to preserve populations that are in danger; prevention of injury, loss or harm. This is not conservation, only subsequent human generations cleaning up a mess at the expense of a Brown Tree Snake.
NY Daily News articleNational Geographic
wildlifeextra
http://anstaskforce.gov/spoc/Brown_treesnake.php
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