オーストラリア：ネズミの大量発生

　クイーンズランドの海岸を埋め尽くすかのようにネズミが大量発生しているそうな。

BBC Rat plague spreads to Australia's fishing towns 23 Nov 2023　By Kelly Ng

　観光なんかできやしない！　という情勢らしく、観光立国の国としては厳しいですわね。

「Thousands of rats - dead and alive - have swept up on beaches in Queensland Australia, overwhelming residents.

Parts of the state have been battling a rat and mouse plague for months now.

A surge in the native rodent population has forced the rats to move coastwards in their search for more food, but many do not survive the trip, according to experts quoted in local media.」

　あっちこっちもぐりこんではひっくり返し―自動車なんかも一晩のうちに壊れちゃうほどだとか。アヒル小屋に入り込んでアヒルが大騒ぎ！って、死ななくてよかったなそれ。

「"We have hire vehicles and they literally destroyed a car overnight, taking all of the wiring out of the engine bay," said Mr Lord, 49.

He added that his pet ducks had been "going mad" as rats broke into their cages.」

　気象条件・えさとなる恵みが多かったための突発事象。2011年以来の大騒ぎ―ということで。

「The surge in the rat population has been caused by a combination of ideal wet weather conditions for breeding and a bountiful harvest.」

「Mouse populations have reached plague conditions not seen since 2011, it said.」

　これも気候変動の一つかねえ、と言いたくもなりましょうね。