Rat tracks on Kiska Island

The inadvertent introduction of rats to islands in the Aleutians resulted in the devastation of seabird populations. Rats prey upon eggs and chicks of ground- and cliff-nesting birds, which had no mammal predators before the arrival of rats. The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, along with teams and communities across Alaska, works to prevent the spread of rats to new islands and to help restore seabird populations on affected islands.