from the archive
November 3, 2010
U of M expert headed to Galapagos Islands to preserve rare hawks during eradication of invasive rats
News Summary
- Julia Ponder, D.V.M., the executive director of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Raptor Center, is traveling to the Galapagos Islands to launch a rescue mission for a rare species of Galapagos Hawks.
- The hawks will be placed in temporary captivity while officials attempt to rid the islands of invasive species of rats threatening the island of its native wildlife.
- The hawks must be temporarily removed from the islands during the eradication process because Galapagos hawks prey on rats, leaving the birds highly susceptible to secondary poisoning during the eradication process.
- Ponder will will manage, monitor and care for the birds as well as provide input on other facets of the project.
Quotes
“It is a privilege to be able to bring The Raptor Center’s depth of knowledge and experience to this project and work with these extremely dedicated partners.I am absolutely thrilled that they realized the project would benefit from a veterinarian’s perspective and contacted us," said Julia Ponder, D.V.M., the executive director of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Raptor Center.
“While I am personally very privileged to be able to do this work, it is a tribute to The Raptor Center’s entire team that we can bring so much expertise to this project,” Ponder said. “In addition to our experience in raptor medicine, surgery, and critical care, we also bring leadership and knowledge in the area of captive management of wild raptors, which will be critical for this project.”
The College of Veterinary Medicine's Julie Ponder, D.V.M., is on a rescue mission in the Galapagos Islands. She'll be caring for Galapagos Hawks in temporary captivity while officials attempt to rid the islands of invasive species of rats threatening the island of its native wildlife.
Full Text
MINNEAPOLIS / SAINT PAUL, Minn. (November 3, 2010) – A University of Minnesota researcher will travel to the Galapagos Islands this week to launch a rescue mission for a rare species of Galapagos Hawks.
The hawks – known as Buteo galapagoensis, or Galapagos Hawk – will be placed in temporary captivity while officials attempt to rid the islands of invasive species of rats threatening the island of its native wildlife.
The hawks must be temporarily removed from the islands during the eradication process because Galapagos hawks prey on rats, leaving the birds highly susceptible to secondary poisoning during the eradication process.
To mitigate this risk, the hawks will be brought into captivity for four to six weeks, where Julia Ponder, D.V.M., the executive director of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Raptor Center, will manage, monitor and care for the birds as well as provide input on other facets of the project.
Ponder is among an impressive team of scientists and researchers stemming from the Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos National Park, University of Missouri and The Peregrine Fund. Ponder’s expertise will be critical as she provides veterinary leadership during the project.
“It is a privilege to be able to bring The Raptor Center’s depth of knowledge and experience to this project and work with these extremely dedicated partners,” Ponder said. “I am absolutely thrilled that they realized the project would benefit from a veterinarian’s perspective and contacted us.”
The Galapagos Islands are situated on the equator in the Pacific Ocean about 600 miles west of Ecuador. The archipelago of volcanic islands is home to myriad exotic wildlife only native to the islands. Charles Darwin famously studied animals on the island, which ultimately inspired his theory of evolution by natural selection.
Scientists believe the invasive rats threatening the ecological stability of the Galapagos Islands may have been originally introduced to the archipelago as early as the 17th century by pirate boats. To eliminate the threat posed by both black and Norwegian rats, a complete eradication is being attempted. Previously, Galapagos National Park officials have launched both pig and goat eradication efforts as well.
“While I am personally very privileged to be able to do this work, it is a tribute to The Raptor Center’s entire team that we can bring so much expertise to this project,” Ponder said. “In addition to our experience in raptor medicine, surgery, and critical care, we also bring leadership and knowledge in the area of captive management of wild raptors, which will be critical for this project.”
The effort is a pilot project involving only 10 small islands (four have hawk territories on them). Researchers will be developing capacity and infrastructure for future projects on the larger islands.
More information about The Raptor Center’s work on the Galapagos Islands and updates from Ponder will be posted on The Raptor Center’s blog.
