A shocking video has shown dozens of dead rats lining a beach after they drowned and washed ashore in a small Australian seaside community.
Residents of Karumba, a fishing town in Queensland, northern Australia, were horrified to discover a several-metre-long line of dead rats along a local beach.
Footage captured by one Queenslander showcased the grim find as they heralded the arrival of a “rat plague” that has infested other nearby areas in recent months.
The person taking the video can be heard explaining the rats had drowned after arriving in the town, where they have caused chaos while searching for new food sources.
Karumba is one of several areas that have battled rat outbreaks, with other towns having reported similar scenes.
The video posted from the small town shows the fallout from rats surging towards Australia’s coast.
They have raced for seaside neighbourhoods due to an explosion in the country’s native rodent population, with mice also rapidly multiplying.
Experts have said the additional competition has left them searching for more food, but many don’t survive the trip and drown while combing through the waters on the border of some towns.
Locals have said the rats have broken into cages, destroyed cars, and wreaked general havoc as they arrive “in waves”.
Speaking to Nine News’ 4BC radio earlier this week, Karumba resident Jon Jensen said they were “eating anything and everything” they could find.
He said: “They’re climbing up all the commercial fishing boats by their anchor chains and any other submersible pumps etc, and they’re causing havoc with everything.
“They’re hungry, they’ve swum a long way, they’ve come across land a long way, and they’re eating anything and everything they can get their hands on.”
Videos show heaps of rodent corpses piled up on beaches, with others floating in rivers in Normanton, a town neighbouring Karumba.
Much of the footage also shows insects swarming around the lifeless bodies, concerning residents as populations reportedly reach plague proportions not seen in more than a decade.
Experts believe the rat surge has developed from a combination of wet weather – which is ideal for breeding – and wet weather, with some expecting the worst is yet to come for the affected towns.
