The Great Goat War

There has been an Australian war against emus in the past, but at least the emus had a fighting chance. Not so for The Great Goat War, which was pursued by $10 million in UN funding, two helicopters, 100 hunters, and 500,000 rounds of ammunition. But, hey, the goats lasted nearly ten years after the war was declared, so that’s something.

First introduced by whalers back in the 1700s, a handful of goats migrated over a wide expanse of nearly impassable lava terrain to the northern end of Isabela in the mid-1980s, and by 2000 some 120,000 were tearing up the landscape. The goats overgraze on the same native plants that support the giant tortoise and other species, turning forests into virtual deserts. As late as the '80s, the tortoises, which live as long as 200 years, were endangered and well on the path to extinction. As a result, they had to leave. This resulted in a significant loss of food and income for locals, but no one fought back for the goats.

• Date: 1998 - 2006
• Location: Isabela Island, Galapagos.