In 1883, Hawaii introduced mongooses to control rats in sugarcane fields. They soon became a far bigger threat to native wildlife

Back in the late 1800s, Hawaii's booming sugarcane industry had a serious rat problem. Rats were tearing through the cane fields, cutting into profits, and plantation owners wanted a quick fix. Their answer was to bring in the small Indian mongoose, a fast, sharp-toothed little predator known for hunting rats and snakes back in its native range. It sounded like a simple solution at the time. Instead, it turned into one of the most cited examples of a conservation plan gone wrong, because the mongooses barely touched the rats and went after Hawaii's native birds and reptiles instead, animals that had never faced a land predator before and had no way to defend themselves.

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