Invasive goats and rats eradicated, Redonda island bursts into green life
After removing over 6,000 rats and starving goats in 2017, Redonda’s vegetation grew more than 20-fold and its rare ground lizards increased eightfold by 2019.
Redonda, a volcanic islet belonging to Antigua and Barbuda, had been stripped of flora and fauna by introduced goats and thousands of black rats. Starting in 2016, a restoration program led by the Environmental Awareness Group, the Department of Environment and partners such as Fauna & Flora International and Island Conservation removed the goats by hand and eradicated more than 6,000 rats by 2017. The island was then left to recover on its own, and native vegetation surged, with cover and biomass increasing over 20-fold by 2019.
The Redonda ground lizard population grew eightfold, and later assessments suggested an even larger rise. Bird diversity also rebounded, with land bird species climbing from nine to 23 and seabirds nesting again. The success has prompted the creation of the Redonda Ecosystem Reserve to protect the gains, highlighting the power of invasive-species removal for island ecosystems.
Why it matters
The project shows how quickly island ecosystems can recover when invasive species are eliminated, offering a model for global conservation.
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