© Photo: Acacia Johnson
SOUTH GEORGIA HERITAGE TRUST The South Georgia Heritage Trust (SGHT) has been key in protecting South Georgia’s wildlife through its rodent eradication program. With support from Quark Expeditions, the project eliminated invasive rats that had devastated native birds such as the South Georgia pipit and pintail. In 2018, the island was declared rodent-free. Guest auctions helped fund the Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) biosecurity dog team, which works to prevent rats and mice from reaching South Georgia. The team comprises two handlers and three specially trained rodent detector dogs, who check cargo and vessels bound for South Georgia from the Falkland Islands. The dogs and their handlers searched approximately 60 cruise ships and yachts over the 2024-25 season. This biosecurity dog program is vital to keep South Georgia rodent-free, and allow bird populations to recover.
Visit SGHT.org
© Photo: Michelle Risi
SAVING MARION ISLAND’S SEABIRDS: THE MOUSE-FREE MARION PROJECT Marion Island, a vital sub-Antarctic biodiversity haven, is an important breeding site for many seabirds that we know and love from Patagonia and the Drake Passage, like the Wandering, Grey-headed, and Light-mantled Albatrosses. However, invasive mice, introduced in the 1800s, now threaten its fragile ecosystem. Worsened by climate change, the mice have begun attacking seabirds as invertebrate food sources decline. Without action, 19 bird species could vanish from the island within 30 years. The Mouse-Free Marion Project is the largest rodent eradi- cation ever attempted, encompassing 30,000 hectares. He- licopters will distribute rodenticide bait island-wide, employ- ing the only proven method for large-scale restoration. Led by South African government agencies, BirdLife South Africa, NGOs, and the research community, this bold effort aims to restore Marion Island’s ecosystem—and serves as a model for future conservation worldwide.
Visit MouseFreeMarion.org
24 | For more information, contact Quark Expeditions at Sustainability@QuarkExpeditions.com
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