We don’t need no stinkin’ badgers!

How could I resist the title?

From Saturday’s Noroeste de Sinaloa (my translation, article by Karen Lule).

Mazatlan — Playa Norte fishermen have brought to the public’s attention the presence of badgers preying on gulls, terns and pelicans on the Tres Islas.

Fishermen’s Union spokesman, indicated that the mammels are destroying the native species on the islands, and it is important that the authority intervene in this matter.

“The authorities must pay attention to the islands. On the first, and the middle island, there is a pack of badgers that are feeding on the nests of the gulls, terns and pelicans,” he said.

Other fishermen say they have seen increasing numbers of the animals, and in their avidity to obtain food is affecting the bird population in the protected areas.

Saldoval presumes the badgers were introduced onto the islands thirty years ago when electrical connections were made to the mainland.

According to the fishermen, there are more than one hundred badgers, causing extensive damage on Isla de Pájaros and Isla de Chivos.

“These animal reproduce very fast, and must be removed before they wipe out the bird colonies,” they said.

The three islands are protected areas under the 2 August 1978 Gulf Island Protection Decree. According to the National Commission for Protected Areas, one of the main problems faced by island ecosystems is the introduction of non-native flora and fauna.