Japan’s Environment Ministry has declared that mongooses have been eradicated from Amami-Oshima Island in the country’s southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima. Amami-Oshima is registered as a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site.
The non-native mammal was introduced onto the island in 1979 to reduce the population of a highly venomous local snake species.
But the predator started to prey on rare native species, including the Amami rabbit, a highly protected “special natural monument.” The mongoose population grew to an estimated 10,000 at one time.
In 2005, the ministry designated mongooses as an alien species harmful to the ecosystem, and launched a project to eradicate them.
Experts met on Tuesday to assess the project’s progress. Officials reported that no mongooses have been trapped for more than six years, nor has the animal’s image been captured by any of the motion sensor cameras installed at 579 locations on the island.
The experts concluded it’s highly likely that mongooses have been eliminated from the island.
After the meeting, the Director General of the ministry’s Nature Conservation Bureau, Ueda Akihiro, declared the alien species has been eradicated from the island.
Ministry officials say there are nine cases worldwide in which mongooses were eradicated from areas they had been introduced into. But they add it is rare for the animal to be exterminated from areas where it has become firmly established, like Amami-Oshima.
They say, however, mongooses could still arrive from the main island of Okinawa, which they inhabit. The officials say they will continue to use the motion sensor cameras to monitor for the animals.
Environment Minister Ito Shintaro told reporters that tenacious efforts were the key to the eradication. He said his ministry will share what was learned from the project to help similar efforts being made both at home and abroad.
He called on the public to follow three rules to avoid damage by alien species: don’t introduce, release or spread them.