An appeal to find workers to eradicate thousands of bird-eating rats in the Western Isles has attracted interest from all over the world.
The RSPB is searching for a team to exterminate the rodents from the Shiant Isles, which are four miles off the south-east coast of Lewis and a 20 miles boat trip from Stornoway.
The colony of black rats was shipwrecked there nearly 100 years ago.
The population peaks at 30,000 in the summer but drops to less than 3,000 during the winter – when the project will take place.
It is hoped that the eradication of all the rats will boost populations of birds which breed on the islands.
The £300,000 contract will be completed between November and March next year.
The team of poisoners will stay on the islands. But the bothy, which sleeps four people, has no running water, no electricity and no toilet.
Species such as the Manx shearwater and European storm petrel visit the islands to breed, as well as puffins.
RSPB seabird recovery officer Philip Taylor said that the rats eat eggs, chicks and seabirds.
He added: “These are amazing birds – the storm petrel will spend the first five years of their lives at sea. They’re robust little guys but as soon as they arrive on land to breed they can get gobbled by rats as they can only shuffle around and the chicks are fluff balls. So we need to remove these pests and revert the island to what it used to be.”
The four year project will also include work to attract the birds back to the islands – at a total cost of £1million.