Tag Archives: invasive species

Vice News reports: The environmentally invasive descendants of four “cocaine hippos” from Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar’s private zoo now have their eyes set on a new target: People. There have been reports of hippos invading a school yard, as well as terrorizing local fishing communities with some residents requiring hospital care after ferocious attacks. Many are now worried that …

The Associated Press reports: An exploding population of hard-to-eradicate “super pigs” in Canada is threatening to spill south of the border, and northern states like Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana are taking steps to stop the invasion. In Canada, the wild pigs roaming Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba pose a new threat. They are often crossbreeds that combine the survival skills …

The Associated Press reports: When Alicia Griggs steps outside her suburban Fort Lauderdale home, Florida’s latest invasive species comes a-hoppin’ down the street: lionhead rabbits. The bunnies, which sport an impressive flowing mane around their heads, want the food Griggs carries. But she also represents their best chance of survival and moving where this domesticated breed belongs: inside homes, away …

From the Florida Department of Agriculture: Today, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and its Division of Plant Industry announced that a quarantine and treatment area has been established in specific areas of Broward County in response to previously detected giant African land snails. Under the quarantine, it is unlawful to move a giant African land snail or …

The Guardian reports: For decades, wild pigs have been antagonizing flora and fauna in the US: gobbling up crops, spreading disease and even killing deer and elk. Now, as fears over the potential of the pig impact in the US grow, North America is also facing a new swine-related threat, as a Canadian “super pig”, a giant, “incredibly intelligent, highly …

CNN reports: Deer, raccoons, possums and fox once flocked the area of the Everglades National Park in south Florida. Nowadays, you’re lucky if you spot one mammal in the area, according to wildlife experts. Who’s to blame for this decline in wildlife? The invasive species known as Burmese pythons. To help combat this problem for Florida’s ecosystem, snake hunters are …

Tampa’s CBS affiliate reports: The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services confirms the detection of a giant African land snail in the New Port Richey area of Pasco County. If you’re wondering what harm a snail can do — it’s a lot. This species of snail is known to consume at least 500 different types of plants. Not only …

CBS News reports: A large spider native to East Asia has spun its thick, golden web on power lines, porches and vegetable patches all over north Georgia this year — a proliferation that has driven some unnerved homeowners indoors and prompted a flood of anxious social media posts. Millions of the large spiders have spun three-dimensional golden webs in roughly …