Bertarelli Summer2024 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 18
Redonda was very inhospitable back then. There was no fresh
water, no shade during the day.
held on to them. We made hoods to
go over their eyes so they stayed calm
and didn’t feel too stressed out about
the situation. We used pool noodles
to wrap their enormous horns.
So pool noodles on their horns, a
hood over their eyes?
They did end up looking a little
ridiculous.
Quite the helicopter ride.
Yes, we were able to bring over 50
goats from Redonda, the large ones
one at a time. I will say that even while
we were there on the island some were
already dying. When they came to
Antigua, they didn’t even know what
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water was really, so it was hard to get
them to drink. It was hard to get them
to eat, because they had gone without for so long. Some died of disease.
But for the most part, we were able to
save those goats. We also did genetic
testing, and they have Spanish origins,
which was very interesting.
On a personal note, I no longer
eat goat water as you can imagine.
I don’t eat goats at all after I got so
close with them.
I imagine eradicating the rats was a
different story altogether?
Rat eradication must be done during
the driest parts of the year. That’s
when the rats are super hungry,
TO M AVE L I NG
INADVERTENT
INTERLOPER
Goats, like this one, are
not native to the island
of Redonda. Humans
inadvertantly introduced
them, and the island can’t
sustain them.
