Plagues, Pestilences and Diseases
Biblical Plague of Rats destroy huge swathes of China's grasslands
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) May 27, 2010
A Biblical plague of rats has gobbled up vast swathes of grasslands in
north China, sparking a mass extermination drive amid concerns for
herders, state media said Thursday.
The proliferation has left holes across 65,000 kilometres (25,000
square miles) of Inner Mongolia, making it difficult for herders to
ride their horses, whose hooves can get caught up, the official
People's Daily newspaper said.
Authorities have launched a massive extermination drive, with more than
1,000 tonnes of poison dumped over the affected grasslands, an area the
size of Sri Lanka, in an effort to control the number of rats.
The population explosion has been caused by a rise in temperature since
the start of May, as well as overgrazing, which suits the rodents'
natural habitat as they prefer to live in shorter grasses, the report
said.
The number of predators, such as foxes, eagles and snakes, has also
dropped sharply in the grasslands, due in part to pollution,
particularly the large-scale use of pesticides, it added.
Grasslands in Inner Mongolia have long been at risk of desertification
due to excessive farming, overgrazing and drought.