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Rat island : predators in paradise and the world's greatest wildlife rescue / William Stolzenburg.

Summary:
"Rat Island rises from the icy gray waters of the Bering Sea, a mass of volcanic rock covered with tundra, midway between Alaska and Siberia. Once a remote sanctuary for enormous flocks of seabirds, the island gained a new name when shipwrecked rats colonized, savaging the nesting birds by the thousands. Now, on this and hundreds of other remote islands around the world, a massive--and massively controversial--wildlife rescue mission is under way. Islands, making up just 3 percent of Earth's landmass, harbor more than half of its endangered species. These fragile ecosystems, home to unique species that evolved in peaceful isolation, have been catastrophically disrupted by mainland predators--rats, cats, goats, and pigs ferried by humans to islands around the globe. To save these endangered islanders, academic ecologists have teamed up with professional hunters and semiretired poachers in a radical act of conservation now bent on annihilating the invaders. Sharpshooters are sniping at goat herds from helicopters. Biological SWAT teams are blanketing mountainous isles with rat poison. Rat Island reveals a little-known and much-debated side of today's conservation movement, founded on a cruel-to-be-kind philosophy. Touring exotic locales with a ragtag group of environmental fighters, William Stolzenburg delivers both perilous adventure and intimate portraits of human, beast, hero, and villain. And amid manifold threats to life on Earth, he reveals a new reason to hope"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781608191031 (hardback)
  • ISBN: 1608191036 (hc)
  • Physical Description: 279 pages ; 22 cm
  • Edition: First U.S. edition.
  • Publisher: New York, NY : Bloomsbury USA, 2011.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Subject: Wildlife rescue > Alaska > Rat Islands.
Predation (Biology) > Alaska > Rat Islands.
Predatory animals > Alaska > Rat Islands.
Wildlife conservation > Alaska > Rat Islands.
Endangered species > Alaska > Rat Islands.
Rat Islands (Alaska)

Available copies

  • 2 of 2 copies available at SPARK Libraries.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 2 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Bangor Public Library 333.95 STO (Text) 75011000368925 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Indian Valley Public Library 333.9516 Stolzenburg Nature (Text) 39427102555810 Nonfiction Room: Adult Nonfiction Available -


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