SNAKE INVASION
From a distance, the island of Guam looks like paradise... but something is missing. Paradise began to come unraveled in the wake of WWII, when an uninvited to guest came to stay.
As Guam celebrated liberation in the wake of WWII, another enemy was launching a deadly invasion. The brown tree snake most likely came by ship, a silent stowaway from its native Burma. In a matter of decades, this alien invader managed to take the island hostage.
Though the snake has caused no known fatalities in humans, in only decades it wiped out virtually all the island's native birds - some found nowhere else on earth.
It's a creature designed to survive, and scientists don't yet know how to control it. Despite poisons, baits, barriers and traps, the serpent continues to control the island. But the greatest fear is that another silent stowaway will leave the island unnoticed. Just one female carrying eggs aboard a ship or plane could spell disaster. The story of the brown tree snake is a frightening parable of what can happen when a non-native species comes to stay.
LEARN MORE
Federal and state invasive species activities and programs
http://www.invasivespecies.gov/
The Nature Conservancy
https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/who-we-are/
CREDITS
Producer, Writer, Director, & Narrator
Allison Argo
Associate Producer
Amy Bucher
Location Manager
Gretchen Grimm
Editor
Loye Miller
Cinematographer
Reuben Aaronson
Sound
Dennis Towns
Camera Assistant
Brett Wiley
Music Composition
Fred Karns
Executive Producer
Michael Rosenfeld
Special Thanks
Dr. Thomas H. Fritts
Dr. Gordon H. Rodda
National Biological Service
Guam National Wildlife Refuge
Kgum, The Jon Andersen Show
Dept. of Argriculture, Guam Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Animal Damage Control
Andersen Air Force Base
Guam Power Authority
Port Authority of Guam
Continental Micronesia