A LivingValues Movement

PPT 20

Together For A Joyful World

In the late 1950’s, the islands of Borneo witnessed a huge outbreak of malaria.

The World Health Organization decided to confront the malaria outbreak. It decided to go ahead with using DDT.

However, along with the mosquitoes, the chemical also killed tiny insects.

Those insects were responsible for controlling a certain

thatch-eating caterpillar .

As the insects began dying, the caterpillar population increased.

This resulted in damage to the thatched roofs of

houses.

The damage did not stop there. The DDT had affected the island’s entire animal nutrient cycle. Even the cats were affected with toxic levels of DDT. They began to die.

With cats dying, the population of rats increased as well.

That led to an outbreak of diseases like plague and

typhoid fever.

It was at this time that the health department decided to airdrop cats in crates equipped with parachutes to

deal with the rat problem .

Strange as it may sound, the well known ‘enemies’, cats and rats, were required to be together …

Interaction