Interesting/Little Known introduced populations

I think they probably came from multiple releases over time- they appear very suitable as pets but are actually very noisy, which is the downside and a possible reason for so many 'escapes'.

 

I have just seen this interesting paper and thought I would put it here.

A population of the Asian giant mantis Hierodula tenuidentata has been found reproducing in the Po Valley of Italy. The paper actually found that H. tenuidentata was the same species as a more western mantis Hierodula transcaucasica, which has naturally spread west from the Caucasus into southeastern Europe, as far as western Albania. While it cannot be ruled out that the Asian giant mantis arrived in Italy naturally, the lack of any sightings in the Dalmatian area means this is probably a man-assisted arrival, albeit one that could have been expected to happen naturally over time.

The paper is included in full below:
http://www.biodiversityjournal.com/pdf/9(4)_399-404.pdf

 

I have been reading 'Europe: A Natural History' by Tim Flannery (a truly fascinating book, published in 2018) that I received for Christmas and in it the author briefly mentions that he has 'been told that a small population of white cockatoos has become established on the Cote d'Azur'.

An initial search on Google has not provided any further information on this population.

 

Since 2006 there seems to be a stable population of ring-tailed coati's on Majorca.

 

That the Common myna is doing well outside its original habitat is well known but Europe has been so far not mentioned as being part of their new home.
However on Majorca and the Canary Islands the species had already become native but has been again removed by men.
On the continent there are however still some populations left in Italy and Portugal.

 

Ring-tailed lemurs on St. Catherines Island in Georgia and i think Plain chachalacas on Sapelo Island also in Georgia.

 

I just found something I think might be quite interesting - was looking on the CABI (Invasive Species Compendium) page for the Egyptian goose and found this particular quote under the distribution heading:

'The species is recorded to have been native in parts of the Danube Valley in southeast Europe until the early eighteenth century... the extent of this distribution in relation to current national borders is incompletely known, however'.

Now very interested, I followed one of the links included (Blair et al., 2008) and there it said that the species naturally bred from southern Hungary downstream to Romania.

A bit awkward that, if my understanding is correct, a formerly native European species is now being completely banned from being kept in the EU.

The CABI page is included below:
Alopochen aegyptiaca (Egyptian goose)

The paper by Blair et al., is included here; the information about the Egyptian goose's former European native range is on page 41:
https://www.unep-aewa.org/sites/default/files/document/inf2_17_non-native_0.pdf

 

I have never heard of this before, but this former European range is so far removed from its African one, surely this would have been an introduced population that later became extinct?

In UK, Egyptians are now common in the Greater London area, the Thames as far as Oxford and seem to be increasingly common in some other Southern counties too.

 

This paper is of great interest, although much has changed in the intervening twenty years. I somehow doubt that the alleged hybridisation of mallard with domestic fowl and Guineafowl would bear scrutiny!

 

There are quite a few African waterbirds with similarly disjunct populations - I know that sacred ibis, goliath herons and African darters are all native breeders in parts of the Middle East (the latter species is actually listed on the IUCN as Regionally Extinct in Europe itself) and the CABI page does mention that Egyptian geese were also formerly native to the Middle East.

While I think it is quite possible the Southeast European Egyptian geese may be an extinct introduced population, at the same time I wouldn't be unduly surprised if they did make it there naturally.

 

Here's an introduction that surprised me: gemsbok at White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, USA

 

Here are some interesting introduced Florida mammals you may not know about:

-White-nosed Coati
-Capybara
-Black-tailed Jackrabbit
-Jaguarundi
-Red-bellied Squirrel

 

That's just a rumour...

 

Not as much as you may think, there have been several reliable sightings over the years.

 

Any photos?

 

No, but many of the sightings are from the DNR and respected biologists.

 

That's fair then, but I'd like to see some photos for additional confirmation.

 

Crestview man captures video of mysterious creature in back yard (VIDEO)

This may be a jaguarundi, my humble opinion says it is.

 

Possibly, but I think Felis catus is the culprit there.

 

could be an escapee from the nearby Emerald Coast Zoo.