Following eradication efforts implemented in 2023, a monitoring mission has confirmed that the three islets of Ua Pou, in French Polynesia, are now rat-free. This achievement will provide a safe haven for native and endangered seabirds to nest, restoring balance to the Marquesan coastal ecosystem. For 15 days, Ms. Tehani Withers and Mr. Roberto Luta from the Société d'Ornithologie de Polynésie (SOP) Manu, a local ornithology NGO, inspected the islets of Motu Takaē, Motu Ōa, and Motu Mokohe, where their traps and night cameras found no evidence of rats.
Although it’s too early to fully assess the benefits, Ms. Withers reported positive initial observations for native bird populations. “At night, we observed numerous Baillon’s shearwaters returning to their burrows, a species previously heavily impacted by rats, especially their eggs and juveniles.
