When Monsters Attack

Non-native fish and wildlife are creating havoc in our eco-systems from Minnesota to Florida. They are decimating the landscape, kicking out native wildlife from their habitats, and costing taxpayers billions of dollars. The sad thing about this plot is that some of these invasions were preventable through improved processes in wildlife importing.

Snakes in the Glades

University of Florida researchers holding a Burmese python caught alive in the Everglades in 2009. Photo courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey.

They pose a serious risk to the endangered Florida panther by competing for the same food sources. The internet is full of photos of battles between these monstrous snakes and powerful alligators.

Their apparent ability to adapt to our southern climates may allow the snakes to migrate further away from the Everglades.

Flying Fish of the Heartland

The south isn’t the only place under invasion from alien creatures. The American heartland is struggling with aquatic aliens collectively known as asian carp. Asian carp is a catchall name for species of silver, bighead, grass, and black carp from Southeast Asia. They were imported in the 1970s to filter pond water in fish farms in Arkansas. Flooding allowed them to escape. They are slowly migrating north up the Mississippi tributaries and there are fears that they will soon reach the Great Lakes. Once established they are virtually impossible to eradicate. Females lay approximately half a million eggs each time they spawn putting pressure on native fish populations. The huge, hard-headed silver carp also pose a threat to boaters. The fish can leap out of the water when startled by boat engines, often colliding with people and causing injuries.

Rodents of Unusual Size

Further south on the Mississippi river a large rodent, known as nutria, is creating a nuisance in the wetlands. Originally imported for the fur trade from South America, nutria currently populate 15 states. They were introduced to Coastal Louisiana in the 1930s and have caused a devastating effect on the fragile Mississippi River Delta. Eating the stems of wetland plants, nutria overgraze a wetland area eventually turning the wetlands to open water.

The Birds

Resembling the Hitchcock film, this flying creature can be found throughout the U.S. and has the claim of the “most hated bird in North America.” The European Starling was imported as a New York businessman’s not-so-brilliant idea to import exotic birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays to Central Park. Over 200 million European Starlings are now residents of American farms and cities. These nuisances run off native birds and cause over $800 million in damage to agriculture each year. That’s only the tip of the problems these birds cause.

How to Stop a Monster

All four of these alien invaders have one thing in common—human introduction to North America. The humans may have been well-intentioned, but they did not consider the long-term consequences of bringing exotic wildlife to our country.

There are still no regulations to analyze the risks of non-native species before allowing them to be imported. As a result, native wildlife—and public health—is threatened by additional invasive species. Recently the House of Representatives introduced a bill, the Invasive Fish & Wildlife Prevention Act of 2012, to improve the initial screening process for importing exotic fish and wildlife. While it won’t end the current invasions, it may prevent future ones.

Non-native species create imbalances in our ecosystems, putting endangered wildlife at risk. It costs taxpayers billions of dollars every year to deal with the invaders. It’s time to be proactive about wildlife importations.

Help protect native wildlife, including Florida Panthers, from invasive species like the python.

Extra-Large Wildlife

Blue whales reach lengths of 110 feet (with females being bigger than males), making them the largest animals to ever live! They are also one of the loudest animals on Earth, songs can reach nearly 200 dB (louder than a jet engine!) and travel for hundreds of miles across the ocean.

For another animal with impressive length, here is a video of a 49 foot long python, being held in captivity in Indonesia. Over the centuries there have been many tales of giant snakes. This 983 pounder tells us the tales were mostly true. In recent years, pythons have become an extra-large threat to the Florida Everglades ecosystem, where pet owners have released the non-native species into the wild.

Similar tales of exotic wild creatures at sea may have been spawned by such as this 2,000 pound, nine foot long loggerhead turtle that, sadly, only came to view because it snagged in buoy cable. NWF and colleague organizations took many needed steps during the 2010 BP Gulf oil disaster to protect loggerheads and other turtle species.

We all know that giraffes are our tallest land animal and that some have reached heights in excess of 20 feet, but the world’s tallest subspecies of giraffe, the Rothschild, is now in danger of extinction.

Scientists exploring Madagascar reported the discovery of what is thought to be the world's smallest chameleon, Brookesia micra, a leaf chameleon. Photo by Glaw, F., et al., PLoS ONE

Extra-Small Wildlife

By contrast, the smallest of reptile was recently discovered in Madagascar: Brookesia micra. It is a tiny leaf chameleon that measures an inch when fully grown.  Recent efforts to inventory wild species in tropical forests are finding hundreds of previously undocumented species, including this little guy who lives in leaf litter and only comes out at night.

Speedy Birds

There are many record-breaking speedsters in the animal kingdom. The Peregrine falcon gets the nod for being able to dive at speeds close to 150 mph, but Siberia’s spine-tailed swift wins the overall prize for flying across the sky at 106 mph.

And while cheetahs are the fastest land animal, able to run at 70 mph, the ostrich is the fastest land bird, having been clocked at about 45 mph.

My favorite speedster may be the Gentoo penguin which can swim at about 25 mph through Antarctic seas. These penguins need their speed and smart maneuvering to keep from becoming food the large predators such as orcas. This two minute video, called Happy Gentoo, shows how this all works for a worn out but clever penguin being chased by a pod of orcas. It has a surprise ending you may like. By breaking a record, the little guy avoids becoming a statistic.

Big Leapers

The highest land-based leaper seems to be the cougar, which can jump straight up over 20 feet. The highest ocean leaper seems be a toss-up between orcas and sharks which can get themselves some 20 feet above the waves.

Southern cricket frogs are one of the best jumpers in the amphibian world, reaching heights of over 60 times their body length (that’s like a person jumping up a 38 story building!).

Eastern Hercules Beetle

Longest Commutes

The arctic tern seems to win in the “longest commute” category with its annual 21,000 mile round trip from pole to pole and the North American caribou does a 5,000 mile round trip on land.

Hercules! Hercules!

Last but not least, rhinoceros beetles–sometimes called Hercules beetles because they possess strength of a herculean proportions–can lift objects 850 times their weight. That would be equivalent to a human lifting 9 fully grown male elephants!

Protect Record-Breaking Wildlife

You can help wildlife – adopt your own record-breaking animal today! >>

This development, in concert with the recent death of a small child by an escaped pet snake, have caused a furor in the media.  Dire predictions are flying around and politicians are calling for serious measures to stop the spread of the snakes.

Paul Quinlan at the Palm Beach Post has written a thoughtful article on the python’s actual numbers, their effects on the ecosystem and what the scientists are really saying, see article.