In the vast stretch of ocean between Tahiti and South America lie a handful of coral atolls so remote that most people will never hear of them, let alone visit. For generations, Vahanga, which belongs to the Acteon and Gambier island groups in French Polynesia, has borne a silent burden unrelated to its own indigenous wildlife. Rats brought in by passing ships long ago gradually wiped out the ground-nesting birds that had developed on the atoll without ever having to defend themselves against a land predator.
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