# Removing 58 pigs revived Clipperton Island’s seabird colony

2026-08-15T12:28:57+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 1 independent outlet

Removing 58 feral pigs from Clipperton Island in 1958 helped its Brown and Masked Booby populations recover from about 650 birds to more than 137,000 by 2003, according to Times of India. American ornithologist Kenneth Stager found the pigs feeding on land crabs and disrupting nesting birds before killing all of them. The pigs’ removal allowed land crabs to recover. The crabs controlled vegetation and young coconut palms, preserving open nesting ground for boobies on the tiny Pacific atoll. Aerial photographs counted more than 25,000 Brown Boobies and 112,000 Masked Boobies in 2003. The recovery later faced a new threat after Black Rats appeared following shipwrecks in 1999 and 2000.

## Coverage

- timesofindia.indiatimes.com <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/in-1958-58-feral-pigs-were-removed-from-clipperton-island-helping-a-seabird-colony-grow-from-650-to-more-than-137000/articleshow/133259630.cms>

Tags: Clipperton Island, Kenneth Stager
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