In the “poor planning” department – cats were removed from Macquarie Island in 2000 because they were eating seabirds. Now rabbits, lacking a predator to control their numbers, have caused so much damage to the island’s flora it can be seen from space. Which could have an impact on the peguin population, because the foliage offers them some protection from predators.
They get you coming and going, though: “In this case, one element of the cost is the 24m Australian dollars ($17m, £11m) that authorities will spend eradicating rabbits and the rats and mice that eat seabird chicks.”
