Did you know these are the Most Invasive Species in the U.S.?

Ferel Pig

Invasive species typically thrive in a new environment for two reasons. When an animal, fish, insect, or plant is taken out of its original ecosystem and introduced to a new one—whether by accident or on purpose; it is less likely to have any natural predator so there is nothing to keep their population in check. Second without a predator in place, open the flood gates for breeding! Typically, invasive species are prolific breeders due to ideal habitat and next to no hunting predation pressure.  They can destroy native plants, gobble up native animal populations and introduce disease, upending the delicate balance of organisms that provide food or support for each other, or provide a check on each other’s growth. Extinctions have proliferated.
Our human thumb print on this planet and especially the United States has absolutely fueled some of the greatest failures to regional and local ecosystems around the country. By releasing pet snakes in the Everglades National Park to a Shakespeare fan (true story) taking his love for a poet too far, we have without a doubt been careless and irresponsible with our actions.

Here is a list of some of the most hazardous invasive species we seemingly have no solution for in the Unites States.

1. Feral Pigs: Brought to the U.S. in the 1500’s for food purposes, these Eurasian or Wild Boar have been breeding out of control in parts of the country. Most often, wild hogs breed once or twice per year in favorable conditions. Compared to other large mammals, wild hogs have a short gestation period of about 114 days. Sows are sexually mature at 6-8 months of age and average 4-6 piglets per litter.  Which if you are eating a lot of pork is great but when things go sideways with pigs it can be catastrophic. Feral swine are the same species as the pigs found on farms and are descended from farm escapees and/or Eurasian or Russian wild boars brought to the U.S. for sport hunting in the 1900s. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates there are at least 6 million feral swine spread throughout some 35 states. They have been a particularly virulent problem throughout the south, especially in Texas, where their incessant rooting and voracious eating destroy crops, erode soil and uproot tree seedlings, causing deforestation. They also carry disease like pseudorabies and swine brucellosis. The U.S.D.A. estimates, conservatively, that invasive swine cause upward of $1.5 billion in damage annually to all manner of agriculture, including rice, corn, and grains.
2. Burmese Pythons: These snakes have absolutely destroyed the Everglades in Florida and there seems to be no solution other than trying to catch them and kill them. This Southeast Asian reptile has been credited with a 93% population decline for all small mammals (raccoons, river otters, turkeys, opossum, etc.) in the Florida Everglades including a 99% decline in the white-tailed deer population. Some call these swamps a ghost town at this point. Rumors of people releasing their once pets into the swamp or a medical facility housing 100’s of pythons for research purposes being demolished by hurricane Andrew is being credited to why they are here but does it matter at this point? These snakes, which can grow up to 20 feet long or more, were brought to Florida as part of the exotic pet trade. But many owners released the huge creatures, which reproduce rapidly; females are known to produce 50-100 eggs per year with no predators on this continent.
3. Domestic or Feral Cats: When we think of invasive species Garfield really does not come to many people’s mind. However Cats are a beloved pet in the U.S., which is why it comes as such a shock to many Americans that they are seen as a destructive invasive species here as well as in the U.S. and many other parts of the world. Historians believe ancient Egyptians were the first to domesticate cats, and that these pets spread to Europe during the Roman Empire. When Europeans colonized North America, they brought cats with them as pets.  The stats are the stats, “free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.3–4.0 billion birds and 6.3-22.3 billion mammals annually.” And the American Bird Conservancy estimates that cats have contributed to the extinction of more than 60 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles.
4. European Starlings: Talk about the blunder of all blunders! Eugene Schieffelin was such a fan of William Shakespeare that he decided to introduce a bird mentioned in his play Henry IV into the U.S. In 1890 and 1891, Schieffelin unleashed approximately 100 imported Europeans starlings into New York City’s Central Park. Today, there are more than 200 million European starlings in North America; considered noxious and destructive, they compete with native species and destroy crops such as grains and pitted fruits. They swarm agricultural feeding troughs, contaminating food and water, and are linked with diseases like histoplasmosis, a lung ailment afflicting agricultural workers. In 1960, a swarm of 10,000 starlings flew into a passenger plane taking off from Boston’s Logan Airport, disabling the engines and causing a crash that killed 62 people.
5. Nutria Rats: Described by some as a cross between a beaver and a sewer rat, with large orange buck teeth, nutria can grow as large as 20 pounds. Why are they here? They came to Louisiana in the early part of the 20th century as part of the fur trade, but as the market declined, traders released them into the wild, where they have wreaked havoc and spread to each coast. They not only damage crops and other property; they gnaw prodigiously through wetland plants, causing significant soil erosion and turning swamps into open waters; their extensive burrow systems can destabilize roads, bridges, levees, and golf courses; and they can transmit diseases like tuberculosis. 
6. Asian Carp: In the 1970’s these fish were imported to the U.S. to keep fish farm ponds clean, terrible idea! In the U.S., there are four invasive species collectively known as "Asian carp”: bighead carp, black carp, grass carp and silver carp. In the 1970s, the U.S. imported them to help keep aquatic farms clean, control weeds in canal systems and help with sewage treatment. However, they escaped into the Mississippi River basin, scarfing up the base of the aquatic food chain, with some species eating as much as 20 to 100 percent of their body weight daily. They have been outbreeding native species and pushing them out of their own ecosystem, while expanding into new waterways. Silver carp, which have a disconcerting habit of leaping out of the water, have been a hazard to boaters and anglers.

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