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Feral donkey (Equus asinus) eradications in the Galápagos

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Abstract

Introduced herbivores are major drivers of ecosystem change and biodiversity loss, particularly on islands. Tools and techniques now exist to routinely remove introduced herbivores from islands, providing a powerful conservation tool. Here, we summarize the few documented feral donkey removals on islands worldwide, and report on the removal of populations from the Galápagos archipelago, Ecuador. After decades of sporadic control programs on Santiago Island and Alcedo Volcano, Isabela Island, donkey populations were removed from both areas, concurrent with a goat eradication program. Both ground and aerial hunting programs were utilized. The latter method was highly efficient; donkeys were removed from Santiago Island with less than 80 h of aerial hunting. Given the clear impacts of introduced herbivores on islands worldwide, feral donkey populations should be routinely removed from islands.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Galápagos National Park Service, Puerto Ayora, Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador

    Victor Carrion, Karl Campbell, Christian Lavoie & Felipe Cruz

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Corson Hall, Cornell University, 14853-2701, Ithaca, NY, USA

    C. Josh Donlan

  3. Island Conservation, Center for Ocean Health, 100 Shaffer Road, 95060, Santa Cruz, California, USA

    C. Josh Donlan

  4. Charles Darwin Foundation, Casilla 17-01-3891, Quito, Ecuador

    Karl Campbell, Christian Lavoie & Felipe Cruz

  5. Natural and Rural Systems Management, Gatton College, University of Queensland, 4345, Gatton, Qld, Australia

    Karl Campbell

  6. United Nations Development Program, Av. Amazonas 2889, Quito, Ecuador

    Christian Lavoie

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  1. Victor Carrion
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  2. C. Josh Donlan
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  3. Karl Campbell
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  4. Christian Lavoie
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  5. Felipe Cruz
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Correspondence to C. Josh Donlan.

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Carrion, V., Donlan, C.J., Campbell, K. et al. Feral donkey (Equus asinus) eradications in the Galápagos. Biodivers Conserv 16, 437–445 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-005-5825-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-005-5825-7

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