Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The brown tree snake is a nocturnal and arboreal species that uses both visual and chemical cues when hunting, either in the rainforest canopy or on the ground. [3] It is a member of the subfamily Colubrinae, genus Boiga, which is a group of roughly twenty-five species that are referred to as "cat-eyed" snakes for their vertical pupils. [4]
A brown tree snake near a snake trap hanging from a fence on Guam. Believed to be a stowaway on a U.S. military transport after the end of World War II, the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) was accidentally introduced to Guam, which previously had no native species of snake. It nearly eliminated the native bird population.
The endemic birds of Guam, the southernmost Mariana island, were severely affected by the introduction of the brown tree snake after World War II. It has been reported that 11 of Guam's 14 terrestrial birds have become extinct or extirpated from Guam. [15]
“My heart breaks over the loss of these 21 species.”
This area is the only designated critical habitat in Guam because it was home to some of the last confirmed populations of the Mariana fruit bat, Guam kingfisher, Mariana common moorhen and Mariana crow. [6] The accidental introduction of the brown tree snake is considered the primary cause for the decline of native Guam bird species. [7]
For premium support please call: 800-290-4726 more ways to reach us
On 5 November 2020, the US Department of the Interior and the US Geological Survey announced that the brown tree snake had been found on Cocos Island. [3] The brown tree snake is an invasive species responsible for the eradication of many species of wildlife native to Guam, including birds and lizards.
The Guam kingfisher (Todiramphus cinnamominus), called sihek in Chamorro, [2] is a species of kingfisher from the United States Territory of Guam. It is restricted to a captive breeding program following its extinction in the wild due primarily to predation by the introduced brown tree snake .