The coastal town of Karumba, Australia, is dealing with an infestation of plague-like proportions.
The usually picturesque RV destination in northern Queensland has been swarmed by thousands of rats, according to Australia’s ABC News.
Making the situation worse, the rats have been swimming out to sea and then drowning on the way back to shore — leading to piles of dead rodents.
“They swim out to the sandbanks at low tide and when the water comes up, they drown and their bodies are washed back onto the beach,” local business owner Jemma Probert told ABC.
“At first it was just a few down on the beach, but now they’re all over the community. … We had about eight in our yard last night that the dogs got,” Probert continued.
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The invading rat is none other than the Australian native long-haired rat, appropriately called the “plague rat.”
Thankfully, the nickname does not refer to a propensity to spread disease, but rather the ability to explode in population and spread in overwhelming numbers, according to the Australian nature site Land for Wildlife.
A female long-haired rat can produce 12 babies per litter every three weeks in favorable conditions, making for the super-spreader environment Karumba and other Queensland cities are now experiencing.
The region received extra rainfall during the wet season earlier in the year, leading to ample vegetation growth for food and nesting material for the rats, ABC reported.
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Beyond chewing through cars and homes and destroying crops on land, the rats are making their way onto fishing vessels, putting the expensive boating electronics of commercial fishermen at risk.
“When the moon came over the town last night, the river was well and truly alive with the bodies of rats,” local fisherman Brett Fallon told ABC.
Fallon said he was finding “at least 100 rats a night” aboard his boat, climbing up the anchor chain from the water below.
Unfortunately, as the Southern Hemisphere moves into its summer, relief does not seem to be in sight. Another wet season on the horizon could add fuel to an already raging fire.
Even though nature responds to these rat boom cycles with an increase in predators, such as the kite bird, more rainfall would keep the boom cycle going.
“Usually plagues drop off when food sources become scarce but the north is moving into the wet season where it is going to be quite easy for rats to find a meal,” said Peter Banks, professor of environmental sciences professor at the University of Sydney.
“I really don’t know what is going to happen here.”
Karumba Mayor Jack Bawden was no more optimistic.
“Unfortunately, there’s a lot here and there’s a lot more coming up from western and southern Queensland,” he said. “We’re not getting any relief anytime soon. … We may just have to wait it out.”
