I think the only one I've seen myself is the grey squirrel... kind of hard not to see them, to be honest! I've never seen them, but the American mink are probably the most problematic invasive species. There was quite a high-profile release of them from one of the fur farms a few years ago. The owner of the fur farm made these public statements decrying the "animal liberation terrorists" who were going to do so much damage by releasing this invasive species, not acknowledging at all the fact that Ireland already had an invasive mink population, after so many escapes from fur farms such as his. The previous government ruled to ban the fur farms, but our current one, obviously so much wiser, reversed that a few months ago, to protect the 60 jobs tied up in the Irish fur farming industry...
Actually not, but in the mid 70's when a Safari Park were closed a troop of baboon (I don't know the exact species) are living free in woods of Cadiz province, until was hunted because they are dangerous for people.
That actually *isn't* a list of all the invasive species in California; it is a list of potentially invasive species, with filtered categories such as their extent in California, and if not present what risk there is of their introduction. Moreover, a few of the invasive species listed *are* native to the northern border of California, such as the Stoat and the American Mink. For instance, the following species you listed as present in California are, according to the website you linked, either not present at all, or their status is unknown. Nilgai - status unknown Gambian giant pouched rat - not present Prairie dog - not present Crab eating macaque - status unknown Japanese macaque - status unknown Rhesus macaque - status unknown Mongolian gerbil - not present Least weasel - status unknown Nutria - not present Raccoon dog - status unknown Gemsbok - status unknown Brush-tailed marsupial mouse - status unknown
Not sure why others in New Zealand haven't replied - but the main invasive animal (other than the common rats and mice) is the Brushtail Possum Trichosurus vulpecula (as opposed to Australia whose entire range of Opossums are protected as a native species - including the exact same type as we get here). As was very common it was deliberately introduced (in the 1850's for the fur trade) and has long been destructive not only very commonly found in gardens (eating fruit and leaves) but also in the native bush eventually killing entire trees. There have been varied campaigns to get rid of them (often controversial eg widespread 1080 poisoning and it's effect on other wildlife and pets) for their damage and the spreading of TB to domestic cattle. Over the decades originally their pelts and now their fur has become valuable. There is plenty of information about all this on the internet.
I live in Texas. Our invasive species are as follows: 1. Wild Boar 2. Nutria 3. House Mouse 4. Black Rat 5. Feral Cat 6. Axis Deer 7. Nilgai 8. Blackbuck 9. Sika Deer 10. Mouflon
Are there actually free-rangins populations of blackbuck, axis deer, sika deer, nilgai, and mouflon in Texas? What about fallow deer?
I thought opossums were quite distinct and largely unrelated to the possums we get in Australia (and like all good neighbours, kindly shared with our friends across the ditch in NZ). Yes our possums are indeed native here in Australia, and as such are protected. There have been many occasions where I've been tempted to trap the possums who thump across my roof at night, stuff them into a post-pak and mail them to NZ where they are allowed to be killed. We're not even allowed to relocate them here in Australia - we get taught "how to co-exist" with possums. I say we teach them to go find someone else's roof to party in.
Of course, you'll see most of these just about anywhere in Australia. Also, we have the Cane Toad up north (and rapidly moving south and west ) ... and, although I've not seen them myself - I believe that fire ants are a problem in parts of Brisbane.
Also, feral goats are a problem in many parts of remote Australia (I've seen them in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia) - although they have taken to rounding them up and farming them in some parts - good export trade to the middle east. Feral water buffalo are a big problem in the wetlands of Northern Territory - although I've not had the opportunity to see them myself. I also read that feral camels have become a problem with over 1 million of them roaming around outback Australia - and this number is expected to double in the next 8-10 years. Feral pigs are also a problem. Apparently feral horses are a major problem too - with over 400,000 of them roaming around. There was some debate not long ago about culling the booming and unsustainable population of wild horses in the alpine regions of Victoria and New South Wales - but these particular horses do hold significant sentimental value for many Australians due to being immortalised in verse thanks to Banjo Paterson's "The Man from Snowy River".
ah the age-old battle between opossum and possum. I always look at it as the best way to use the names is to restrict "opossum" to New World species and "possum" to Australasian species. In New Zealand, however, "opossum" is really really commonly used for the brush-tailed possum. Originally it is derived from an Algonquin name for the Virginian opossum of North America, then used for other New World species and then transferred to Australia with the early-ish explorers who dropped the first letter to make "possum". Similar to the way "goanna" is derived from "iguana". Interestingly enough the first Australasian possum to be known to westerners was the common cuscus which they named "philander", presumably because it has a forked penis. They should have stuck with that and saved the confusion!!
I understood you have Brushtail possum in Australia.....well of course... that's where they came from!!!
There has been a major culling operation of camels recently, the federal campaign began in 2009 and aimed to remove 650,000 camels over four years. Its winding up now, and I don't think it will be resumed (at least not on the same scale), and I also don't know exactly how succesful it was. One of the biggest issues camels pose to native species is that they can completely destroy waterholes, often drinking them dry overnight. This obviously destroys habitat for aquatic species (e.g. fish and invertebrates), but also removes a water source for terrestrial species. This is a very serious issue in such an arid environment.
I too subscribe to this way of thinking, it irritates me greatly when people in NZ call possums opossums. But I haven't noticed it being "really really commonly" used there, just occassionally.
Here in Shanghai, we have pigeons, red-eared sliders, and all kinds of weird fish in the rivers. Someone in the countryside reported Piranhas, and a escaped crocodile (I think it was a saltie) was found dead, floating in a roadside pond by some farmers.
We have Ringtail and Brushtail possums. Ringtails are small and cute. Brushtails are large and destructive. Ringtails sound like you've got a small marsupial living in your roof. Brushtails sound like you've got an elephant living in your roof. Ringtails are frequently seen running along power lines and climbing with great agility. Unfortunately, they can often be found dead under the junction of two power lines (they cross the wires and get electrocuted). Brushtails can often be found pulling roof tiles off to get to the warm spot in the roof cavity above your bed, where they like to party all night long, driving you insane and wanting to commit illegal possumocide. Brushtails are bullies and when they move into an area, all the Ringtails move out. Brushtails scare the heck out of you when they suddenly go running across your roof and jump (noisily) into the bushes right outside your bedroom window at 2am every night - almost like clockwork. Brushtails make really strange noises that sound a little bit like a miniature chainsaw starting up - it is really freaky to hear that right outside your window in the middle of the night. I'm not convinced that the Brushtail that lives at our place doesn't actually have a miniature chainsaw which he plans to use on me so he can take over my bed, which I'm sure I've seen him eyeing off through the window. Did I mention that I'm not overly fond of Brushtail possums?
I think that was subtly implied. One other thing about Brushtail Possums is that when you catch them on the ground, and attempt to clobber them with whatever is handy, they have a strong tendency to climb the nearest tree to escape. They are good climbers, as they utilise their strong, sharp claws to grip. Because you are out in the open, the nearest "tree" is actually you. This makes them significantly less popular animals.
There are hundreds in the UK, including insects. Personally invasive species fascinate me. I'm always researching them. Most can be seen on Wikipedia, but a few more resent species are not listed. I believe they are raccoon's, snapping turtles and coatis but i'm sure there will be more birds and insects too. In my area we have the grey squirrel obviously, Canadian geece, Muscovy ducks, pekin ducks, rabbits, mink, a few types of fish, mainly koi and goldfish. When I was younger we used to see the odd parrot but that's rare for Cheshire, most of the parrots in the UK are in London.
In some farming areas of Australia, Lovebirds are a major pest. They have not been imported since the 1950s, but people are still actively breeding them and are a common sight in pet stores. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for these birds to escape (or be let free) and join feral populations.
have you got some references to back that up? The only wild lovebirds I have ever heard of in Australia, apart for escaped/released individuals, are some small and very short-lived colonies many decades ago (e.g. near Perth).
