Nicholas Chia

Let's just all get along.

Let's just all get along, David.

Tell me about this ferret controversy on this small island.

Yeah, Rathlin Island, which is an island, sort of Northern Ireland island.

And we've talked about invasive species quite a few times.

It seems to be such a recurring theme that it was on The Simpsons.

They talked about it when they went to Australia.

Yeah, when they went to Australia.

And then the scary koala took a plane ride back to the U.S.

Ferrets were introduced into this island in the 1980s.

And it was because the island had a massive rabbit problem.

That's right.

That's exactly how the song goes.

And the ferrets decided, why are we chasing these rabbits that can run away from us when we can just eat the eggs of ground nesting seabirds, including the puffin?

Like they listed a bunch of them, but the puffin's a big one.

These seabirds only lay one egg a year and the ferrets ate them.

and ate the eggs and ate the chicks and ate some of the adults.

And it was supposed to be only like they were going to bring on 50 ferrets that were all male, but they didn't sex them properly.

And they bred and there was a million ferrets and they were taking out all these seabirds.

They were taking out like chicken coops.