Saving Macquarie Island complied by Maura Chamberlain | PB

Saving Macquarie Island complied by Maura Chamberlain | PBSaving Macquarie Island recounts personal experiences of scientists, expeditioners, hunters and public servants who took part in an audacious program to eradicate cats, rats, mice and rabbits from this wildlife haven in the Southern Ocean. The introduced fauna destroyed plant environments threatening the habitat of much of the native fauna including the nesting areas of sea birds. This book and the illustrations are the result of an Australian

Saving Macquarie Island recounts personal experiences of scientists, expeditioners, hunters and public servants who took part in an audacious program to eradicate cats, rats, mice and rabbits from this wildlife haven in the Southern Ocean. The introduced fauna destroyed plant environments threatening the habitat of much of the native fauna including the nesting areas of sea birds. This book and the illustrations are the result of an Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship awarded to Maura Chamberlain.

Honestly, at the time, I believed the eradication of every last rabbit, rat and mouse from Macquarie Island was unlikely. That, despite the best planning and efforts from world experts, the island’s remoteness, formidable landscape and weather, and the renowned tenacity of those vertebrate pests, would possibly mean that total eradication was unattainable. A decade on, with seabirds returning and vegetation running riot, the program remains an outstanding achievement by a group of dedicated and dogged people who are worth reflecting on and celebrating. —Dr Kris Carylon, Manager of the Wildlife Health and Marine Section of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania.