Cases / Water use · United States · 1883
Mongooses brought to Hawaii to eat rats now prey on endangered birds and turtle eggs
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
The sugar industry brought the mongoose to Hawaii in 1883 to eat rats, and state officials say it now eats the eggs of eight endangered bird species. A 1999 estimate put its annual damage in Hawaii and Puerto Rico at US$50 million.
What?
The mongoose was brought to Hawaii in 1883 to eat rats and now preys on endangered birds and turtle eggs, according to the state department. Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources
Where?
Hawaii, United States
When?
From 1883
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
- Eight endangered Hawaiian bird species — Eggs eaten, according to the Hawaii department; the nene is among them Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
The sources describe it as brought in to eat rats, a natural alternative to chemical control.
How?
Brought in by the sugar industry; the sources do not describe how many were released.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
According to the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, the sugar industry brought the mongoose to Hawaii in 1883.
The department says the mongoose eats the eggs of eight endangered bird species, including the nene, and turtle eggs.
A 1999 estimate put the annual damage in Hawaii and Puerto Rico at US$50 million.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: a sugar planter brought nine mongooses to Jamaica in 1872.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: because mongooses hunt by day and rats by night, the introduction did not control rats; at least seven reptile and amphibian species were reportedly lost.
- None on record No early warning about the Hawaii introduction was found in the sources reviewed.
- None on record The number of mongooses released in Hawaii is not stated.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) species entry, Hawaii Invasive Species CouncilHawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources ·