 The large populations of tortoises and marine turtles on Rodrigues resulted in the export of thousands of animals , and cats were introduced to control the rats , but the cats attacked the native birds and tortoises as well . The Rodrigues starling was already extinct on the mainland by this time . Rats are adept at crossing water , and inhabit almost all islets off Rodrigues today . At least five species of <unk> starlings have become extinct in islands of the Pacific Ocean , and rats also contributed to their demise . 
