Million face famine after plague of rats devastates rice crop in Mizoram, India

[Robbien]

Source: UK Times

SATEEK About a million people are facing famine in India's northeastern state of Mizoram after rats ate the region's entire paddy crop.

The rats swept through the forests, feasting on the fruits of wild bamboo, which flowers every 48 years. When they finished the bamboo, they turned to the farmers' crops. The last time the bamboo flowered was in 1959 when a similar influx led to severe food shortages.

Aid agencies have said that most villagers are surviving on wild roots, yam and sweet potatoes. “Conditions of widespread food shortage and hunger prevail in all eight districts of Mizoram,” said a report by the international aid agency Actionaid. “The Government is reluctant to accept that the situation is rapidly slipping out of its control.” Mizoram needs about 15 million kilos (16,500 tons) of rice a month, but only about a fifth of that is available.

Read more: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3571748.ece

[zonkers]

1. What is the connection between the flowering bamboo and the rats' mad appetite for rice?

[Robbien]

4. The rats come to eat the bamboo

but when it is all gone, they eat everything else in sight before moving on.

[dysfunctional press]

18. the high protein of the bamboo also increases their reproduction...

according to the article.

[frankf]

6. theres a bit more info here

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/47557/story.htm

[slackmaster]

2. They need more of these

[skypilot]

5. A similar problem...

...might be coming to China soon since they are rounding up cats and killing them. There was a thread about it here last week.

[slackmaster]

20. I couldn't make myself open that thread

:mad:

[raccoon]

22. Why were the Chinese doing that? nt

[skypilot]

26. It was some kind of disease control measure.

I can't remember what the disease(s) was that they were trying to eradicate, but it was something that they believe is being spread by cats. I'm a bit embarrassed that I don't remember more details but the article was just very disturbing. I'm sure that if you google "Chinese killing cats" you'll get more info.

[bean fidhleir]

14. They need them, but don't want them.

Rodents get a large percentage of each year's grain crop, ca. 25% iirc - this event is only unusual because of the magnitude.

Yet Indians don't seem able to make the connection between catlessness and rodentfulness. They continue to strongly prefer dogs and fear/dislike cats, as this article makes clear:

http://pets.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1736285885.cms

[Greyskye]

28. Holy cr*p!

I'd love to read that article, but one huge block of text with html code scattered through the entirety doesn't read very well. In fact, my head almost exploded.

I'll take your word for it.

[aquart]

3. HOW did they not know it was happening????

All they had to do was post a bounty on rats.

[saigon68]

7. deleted

[Cronopio]

8. Apt metaphor for what has been happening to our economy over the last 8 years.

Longer than that, but especially since 2000.

[Pavulon]

29. Not really. $4 gas and foreclosure

does not equal death. I mean it is bad, and life changing. But not as much as starvation.

Most people here have never seen third world. There is NOTHING in the US or Canada that compares to the poverty in some nations.

[Cronopio]

30. "Apt metaphor" doesn't imply reality. Obviously these Indians' problems are far worse than ours. nt

[pompano]

9. Those poor people.

I can sympathize with them.

On alot smaller scale, right after Hurricane Ivan, the sewer lift stations quit pumping and we got a horrible infestation of sewer rats. Living in sewers their whole life left them with no fear of humans and they would crawl everywhere. I had to hang my food from a rafter with fishing line or it would be infested in mere minutes. It was horrifying.

I lost a beloved pet to their fleas or mites as well, nothing purchased would keep them off of the pets. It may have been some sort of Blue Bonnett plague that animals get as well. We'll never know?

My heart goes out to the people in India.

[Heywood J]

10. Am I the only one thinking that if they're really that desperate,

there's a protein source available? I guess it depends on how little food you have left as to whether it's an option.

Given that this is a cyclical thing, apparently nobody ever heard of rat poison, cats, traps, machetes, stockpiling in protected places, etc. Either that, or eliminating the bamboo that year.

[Robbien]

12. An event happens once about every sixty years

Since this is a very poor area, most the people around weren't even alive the last time around.

One sure wouldn't expect something happening today just because it happened once back in the 1950's.

[pompano]

13. LOL "cats"

On a lighter note. I had a hugh Tom cat. Weighed about 20 lbs more than likely. He was terrified of the rats. If he saw one that had perished to death he would get "grossed out". I am not kidding.

OTOH, I had a fixed female tortoise back cat. It was like a never ending buffet to her. She would bring them to us even, almost like a gift. They were a cute couple. :-)

[slackmaster]

21. I used to have a neutered male ocicat - Best ratter I've ever seen

My tomato crop has never been the same since his death.

[pompano]

24. Yea...

The sweetest cat I ever had was a neutered tuxedo cat. He had a puppy's personality all the way through his adult life. He adored people and other pets as well. His sister, quite a prowler she was, went feral and gave me a litter or two of kittens to take care of. The tuxedo cat would teach his nieces and nephews to climb trees, and actually bathed his sister's kittens twice a day (could have set your clock) by it, morning and evening. When I moved to a farm in Alabama they all went with me. The life of Riley, they had...acres upon acres to roam and a big private lake. Never saw a mouse or rat...wonder why?

If I ever get another cat again I'm sure it will be another Sylvester tuxedo cat. Cats somehow just seem to find me, I ain't had to hunt for one yet. :-) I guess I'm a sucker and too kind hearted, reckon?

[Javaman]

11. Eat the rats. nt

[TheDebbieDee]

15. I saw a documentary on the History Channel several years ago

Where they did just that. Rats swarmed over a town or region in India.

Then, a group of people that wrangle rats was contracted to come into the area and kill or drive out the rats. The wranglers blew some type of poisonous smoke into holes dug under the crops where the rats living. The rats crawled out of the holes and died. The rat wranglers cooked and ate the rats.

This totally freaked me out!

[pompano]

17. You could have went all....

day and not told of people eating rats. The very thought of someone eating a rat makes me want to ol' vomick. :-)

[Javaman]

19. It's a spin on the the, "when given nothing but lemons..." saying LOL. nt

[Heywood J]

23. The idea of eating the rats isn't freaky to me, so much as

the idea of eating poisoned rats. Given that most of the poisons used on them are toxic or fatal to humans, that's really not a good idea. It's like the http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3725/is_199701/ai_n8746745">kid that smoked Warfarin with his joints.

[pompano]

25. Thats why I use...

traps. Those spring loaded snap traps. It's quick, and the poor rat doesn't suffer.

Not to mention that poisoned rats, yet to meet their fate can be retro toxic to domestic pets like a dog or something. I doubt a cat would fool with something already dead. I wouldn't think so?

[uppityperson]

16. k&r for people starving

[GoddessOfGuinness]

27. More info here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9xj-JcE8ng