Saturday, October 19, 2002

Take 2 and Call Me When You're Dying

Scientists in Guam have found a novel way to fight the burgeoning population of brown tree snakes (Boiga irregularis). They've been stuffing dead mice with acetaminophen and tossing them out of airplanes. According to this story from Guam's Pacific Daily News, acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol) is toxic to the snakes. The scientists have been experimenting with various ways to deliver this poison to the invasive snakes, since there is some concern that other animals will eat the mice. One possible option, placing a mouse in a skinny pipe, was rejected after it was learned that an endangered yet crafty bird was able to shake the mouse out of the pipe.

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