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Longtails to be eradicated from the Calf of Man

Mon, 05 Mar 2012

A group of conservationists are planning a cull of longtails on the Calf of Man to save a species of sea bird.

The Calf was once home to a massive colony of Manx Shearwaters but it suffered a big decline when rodents arrived there following a shipwreck in 1781.

By the early nineteenth century the population was all but wiped out, although small numbers have reestablished themselves there in recent years.

Longtails have been controlled on the Calf since the seventies, but still threaten seabird numbers.

The rodent population is now quite low following the cold winter last year.

Manx National Heritage and conservation groups will take advantage of this and plan to eradicate all the longtails this Autumn.

The project will cost £48,000 and will be jointly funded by the RSPB and MNH trustees.

Curator of Natural History, Kate Hawkins says the team will lay down poison and continue to monitor the rodents until hopefully, they have all gone.[Full interview below]

 

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Media

• Kate Hawkins talks to Amy Mulhern about the project