However, one thing they did not anticipate was the presence of huge freaking snakes.
They have no natural predators. They can eat basically anything and they multiply pretty quickly while having a 20+ year life span. Plus, they are not easy to locate or track. These snakes are wreaking havoc in the area and there doesn't seem to be a solution in sight.
Plants and animals being introduced to parts of the world where they are not from often causes issues. Sometimes major issues. The Midwest waterways are being destroyed by the Asian carp which showed up a few decades ago. They are voracious eaters who reproduce quickly and have no natural predators in the area. They are choking out many of the local species and actually changing the condition of the water making it unlivable for many other species. This is just one of many examples of how placing living things where they don't belong is never a good idea. Much like how Maroon 5 should have never played the Super Bowl halftime show. Who thought that would be a good idea?
There are tons of stories of invasive species ruining ecosystems all over the world. In fact, stepping outside your home is a virtual nightmare of foreign monsters everywhere. However, there is one invasive species that seems much more out of place than any of the others.
When the drug kingpin Pablo Escobar was shot dead in 1993, the Colombian government took control of his estate which included a large number of animals from all around the world. They captured and relocated all the animals. Some back to their native lands and some were placed in zoos and animal sanctuaries. However, there were four hippos that were left behind in a pond to fend for themselves. Click here for the story.
Since then, these Columbian cartel hippos have escaped that pond and gotten into the local river and started multiplying. There are now several dozen members to this hippo harem and the local authorities have no idea what to do about it.
Now if we could just get Piers Morgan and Justin Beiber to go back to where they came from.
Maybe they could take care of the Burmese Pythons. Has anyone tried putting these two species in the same ecosystem?
ReplyDeleteI wonder. I would think the hippos would be too big for the snakes to be a threat to them, but I wonder if the hippos would attack the snakes. They are very territorial and aggressive.
DeleteNope. Not Piers Morgan. We don't want him back. Nobody wants him back. Maybe he could do a solo trial run of Elon Musk's Mars settlement.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's not just me then.
DeleteYikes to those snakes!
ReplyDeleteThey make a good stew
DeleteI really like and appreciate your post.Thanks Again. Keep writing.
ReplyDeleteI really like and appreciate your comment. Keep dropping SPAM in people's blogs.
Delete