New Theory+Facts about Easter Island/Rapa Nui?(img +txt heavy) - General Tiki

T TIKIBOSKO Tiki Socialite Joined: Oct 17, 2004 Posts: 336	T TIKIBOSKO Posted posted on Thu, Mar 29, 2007 9:45 PM “Hunt suspected that humans alone could not destroy the forests this quickly. In the sand's layers, he found a potential culprit—a plethora of rat bones. Scientists have long known that when humans colonized the island, so too did the Polynesian rat, having hitched a ride either as stowaways or sources of food. However they got to Easter Island, the rodents found an unlimited food supply in the lush palm trees,” This same problem is currently going on all over the South Pacific, rats (with no natural predators on the islands) are eating or damaging seeds when they hit the ground and many palm species are no longer propagating. It is a problem modern man has been unable to get a handle on and as I understand it took a while to confirm who or what the culprit was. Bosko

“Hunt suspected that humans alone could not destroy the forests this quickly. In the sand's layers, he found a potential culprit—a plethora of rat bones. Scientists have long known that when humans colonized the island, so too did the Polynesian rat, having hitched a ride either as stowaways or sources of food. However they got to Easter Island, the rodents found an unlimited food supply in the lush palm trees,”

This same problem is currently going on all over the South Pacific, rats (with no natural predators on the islands) are eating or damaging seeds when they hit the ground and many palm species are no longer propagating. It is a problem modern man has been unable to get a handle on and as I understand it took a while to confirm who or what the culprit was.

Bosko

Post #295603 by TIKIBOSKO on Thu, Mar 29, 2007 9:45 PM