All tagged invasivespecies

Can Martyred Possums Control Florida Pythons?

A student from Southern Illinois University Carbondale may have accidentally discovered a way to track the invasive Burmese pythons plaguing south Florida. Graduate student Kelly Crandall was examining how human activities influence the movements of raccoons and possums in and around Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Key Largo. Crandall and her colleagues captured 30 possums and raccoons, fitted them with GPS collars, and set them loose.

Jumbo-Sized Pigs Threaten North Dakota

Herds of wild pigs – dubbed “super pigs” for their size, intelligence, and hardiness –  have been spotted within 10 miles of the US border and North Dakota. Invasive pigs have had a foothold in Canada since the 1980s, when farmers began breeding domestic pigs with wild boars imported from Europe. But there wasn’t much of a demand for the new breed of Canadian bacon and the Frankenpigs were turned loose.

Go Whack Some Snakes!

We don’t often cheer on organized animal slaughter, but what’s not to like about the Florida Python Challenge? For ten days (August 5-14), snake hunters will be allowed to stomp around the Everglades to capture and kill invasive Burmese pythons, which have infested the massive wetlands.

It’s Back, the Monster Land Snail

A giant African land snail has been spotted in the New Port Richey area of Pasco County in Florida. The snail (Lissachatina fulica) will feed on more than 500 types of plants but nothing will feed on it, nothing in Florida anyway. The invader was first spotted here in 1969 and has since been “eradicated” twice – in 1975 and again last year – but life finds a way.

Monster Python Eats Last Meal

Late last year, a team from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida captured and killed one of the thousands (or more) of the Burmese pythons plaguing the Everglades. This one, a female packed with 122 egg follicles, was a whopper: nearly 18 feet long and weighing 215 pounds.