Amid the frigid waters of Alaska’s long archipelago tail lies an island where songbirds once sang. But this snowy isle has grown quiet in recent years, because rats are killing all of the birds.

Welcome to Rat Island, a treeless, volcanic rock that has been all but conquered by the mighty Norway rat. Since the vermin escaped from a sinking ship and swam ashore in 1780, they have feasted on eggs, chicks, and grown seabirds that nest on the island. The death count has been in the thousands, maybe millions.

"As far as bird life, it is a dead zone," biologist Steve Ebbert told the AP.

Rat Island – yes, that is its official name – is littered with burrows, droppings, dying plants, and dead birds. “A lot of the birds you find, the only parts the rats eat are the eyeballs and the brains," biologist Art Sowls told Reuters. "It looks like, unless something is done in the next 20 to 40 years, that the rats will probably eliminate that colony."

The Alaskan government has declared war on the invading vermin. It has already drawn up plans to eradicate rats from the entire state. The current strategy for Rat Island is to rain poisonous blood thinner from helicopters and then let the rats bleed to death.

Think that killing off a whole species sounds cruel? Well five government agencies, Defenders of Wildlife, and the World Wildlife Foundation disagree.

"Rats are one of the worst invasive species around," said Gregg Howald, program manager for Island Conservation, which is helping the federal government exterminate the pests. Rats have caused half of the all seabird and reptile extinctions worldwide since the 1600s, when ships started transporting the beasties around the globe.

The biggest issue is that Norway rats breed four to six times a year, and each litter can produce up to 12 babies. At that rate, a single pair could sire 5,000 kids and grandkids every year.