Pet-turned-pest faces extinction |01 August 2008

The long-tailed green bird – well known in Creole as the Kato ver – was introduced here as a pet but has turned into a nuisance to farmers and a potential menace to wildlife.

A survey started in 2001 to locate the birds has found them to be living in the southern part of Mahe. Since 2005 the population of ring-necked parakeets has increased to 60 birds, compared to about 20 in 2001, and so the conservation unit in the Environment Department has set up a programme to eradicate them.

Senior project officer in the unit Elvina Payet said the survey will continue this year and they are seeking help from the public. The media will also be used to make people more aware of these birds and the dangers they pose to the environment.

“We want the public in general to help us by letting us know where and when they see the parakeets,” she said.

Mrs Payet said there are two main reasons why the conservation unit has set up the
control and eradication programme.

Ring-necked parakeets are destructive birds that are fond of food crops such as fruit, and several people, mainly farmers, have complained about how they are affecting their produce.

Secondly, they are aggressive and can attack other birds.

“Most importantly, we are focusing on this project as this green parrot can pose a danger to our endemic black parrot found on Praslin,” said Mrs Payet.

“As it is a parrot, it uses the same habitat to reproduce and eats the same food as other parrots. So the introduced parrots might displace the endemic species we have here in Seychelles in the future if they are not controlled now.”

Mrs Payet said measures previously taken to eradicate the green parakeets were not successful but with a new strategy of shooting them, 56 have so far been culled. The unit works in close collaboration with an army officer assigned to shoot the birds.