The mongooses were brought in to hunt venomous snakes, but preyed on endangered local rabbits instead.
TOKYO - Japan has wiped out all mongooses on a subtropical island, officials said, after the animals ignored the venomous snakes they had been brought in to hunt and preyed on endangered local rabbits instead.
However, the snakes are mostly active at night when mongooses prefer to sleep and the toothy mammals turned their ravenous appetites to local Amami rabbits, drastically reducing their numbers. The rabbits live only on Amami Oshima and one other island, and are listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list.
The government declared the island mongoose-free on Sept 3, almost 25 years after the start of that programme and nearly 50 years since the ill-fated initiative began.
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