Wanted, Dead or Alive, and Preferably Dead

The British are using poison to combat the invasion of the non-native gray squirrel, but what if the squirrels decide to fight back?

It’s another British invasion, but this time it is from the USA to Britain, and the invader is the gray squirrel. Gray squirrels were introduced into Britain sometime in the 19th century, and there have been many deliberate and accidental releases of the squirrels into the environment. Unfortunately, gray squirrels have flourished in the Old Country and have crowded out the native red squirrels, whose population has declined seriously. This has become such a problem that the British government is in the midst of a campaign to kill off the invaders.

Sad to say, this is only one tale of non-native species creating havoc in their new environment. The USA has plenty of similar problems, from zebra mussels and fire ants, to africanized bees and Burmese pythons. Asian carp, imported into the USA for the purposes of aquaculture, have long since escaped into native rivers, most notably the Mississippi, from which they have moved north. Not only do they crowd out native species, but these "jumping carp" have injured people, as well. In 1778, the european rabbit made its entry into Australia, where it proceeded to drive some native species into extinction. The virus myxomatosis was used to kill off the rabbits, but soon the long-eared rodents had developed a resistance and made a comeback.

With the spread of global trade and travel, the end of the invasions of non-native species is nowhere in sight. Many countries have tried to fight back through hunting, trapping, poison, electrocution, and use of sterilizing drugs. Most of the efforts have failed. And what if the invasive critters start fighting us in return? Python at two o'clock!