Snake Plague

1989/04/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ekologia

For every square kilometer of the island there are 4,600 snakes that are responsible for many catastrophes. Among other things, 11 of the 12 native species of birds of Guam have disappeared, where the twelfth is in danger; it has eliminated three species of bats and a kind of lizard; since 1984 it has caused more than 500 electricity cuts (especially they like electrical poles and transformer substations to be present); the business of chicken breeding has been ruined and are aggressive and poisonous.

These snakes are not autochthonous, but from Papua New Guinea, which arrived around 1950 (probably on a military charge). The American base occupies a third of the island. The serpent causes serious problems to the U.S. military for its taste to hide in the dark holes of the machinery. Therefore, anything sent out of the Guam must be properly explored to ensure the absence of snakes. This not only causes discomfort, but economic losses.

Before the brown serpent of the trees reached Guam, the only serpent on the island was blind and harmless.

The US military has planned the disappearance of snakes from Guam.

However, zoologists do not believe that obligation can be very simple.