Long Key State Park. Rat infestation.

hbrady wrote:
Protected Rats, now I've seen it all.

Beach mice

Current Status: The St. Andrew beach mouse is federally listed as endangered. Currently,
there are two populations of the St. Andrew beach mouse: East Crooked Island, Bay County,
and St. Joseph Peninsula, Gulf County, Florida.
Habitat Requirements and Limiting Factors: The St. Andrew beach mouse inhabits the
primary, secondary, and scrub dunes within the coastal ecosystem. Beach mice require well
developed dune systems in which to live out their life cycle. They dig their burrows into the
face of the dunes near vegetative cover. Their diet is comprised primarily of the seeds and
fruits of plants within their dune habitat with insects providing seasonal supplements.
Threats to the St. Andrew beach mouse consist of habitat loss/alteration from land
development and associated human use, hurricanes and other tropical storm events, nonnative
predators, and recreational activity associated with development and tourism, that
weaken and encroach on the dune ecosystem. Other potential threats are shoreline erosion,
feral hogs, competition from house mice, intra-specific crossbreeding with Choctawhatchee
beach mice, and artificial lighting. Availability of suitable habitat may be a limiting factor
during periods of population expansion or following catastrophic weather events.
Recovery Strategy: The St. Andrew beach mouse is faced with numerous threats to its
populations and to its habitat. Due to its limited range and fragmentation of habitat, these
threats combined continue to present a threat to its existence. Through population
reestablishment, habitat protection, minimization or removal of known threats, and public
education and stewardship, this subspecies could be downlisted from endangered to
threatened and eventually removed from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened
Wildlife.
Recovery Goals: The long-term recovery goal for the St. Andrew beach mouse is to
perpetuate the long-term viability of the subspecies in the wild. This goal is represented by
the delisting and removal from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. The
interim recovery goal is to downlist from endangered to threatened status.
Recovery