Rats causing havoc on offshore islands, which provide an all-you-can-eat buffet for the invaders

News Snapshot:

In an age of extinction it can be forgotten that the rise of humanity has led to phenomenal success for some species. One of these is the brown rat, originally from the plains of northern China and Mongolia, but which has colonised virtually everywhere due to the spread of trade networks. This includes offshore islands, where rats (along with other non-native mammal predators such as mice and ferrets) have caused havoc. Rats are a particular problem on offshore islands as these are frequently places that have been devoid of mammalian predators, something that has allowed unique populations of birds, reptiles...