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Eco-types often bemoan the loss of beautiful and popular megafauna - two examples are the gorilla and the panda bear. In Hawaii, the lack of natural predators has produced profligate proliferation for all sorts of accidentally introduced animals - examples are mynah birds and mongooseses.
These
accidental animals all seem to be birds, rats or other small ne'er-do-well types. Why not bring in some gorillas and panda bears? Everyone loves them, and they could be an added tourist attraction. Bamboo is a pestiferous weed in Hawaii, as is guava and many other fruits - so there would be plenty of food for both. Plus, although Oahu is densely populated, many of the other islands (eg Molokai) have acres and acres of deserted cane and pinapple plantation that is reverting to weed lands - and the weeds here are bamboo and guava.
The eco-purist here exclaims that gorillas and pandas themselves would become pests. I argue that (1) these animals have such a low reproductive rate that this would take a long time and (2) these animals are so desired by zoos (especially pandas) that the state of Hawaii could turn a profit by periodically collecting individuals and selling them to zoos.
Mimosa Pigra
http://www.peterfau...com/Mimosapigra.asp
Very nasty pest species here. About 400,000 km^2 affected. [UnaBubba, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004]
Killer Bees
http://www.si.edu/r...buginfo/killbee.htm
A really good idea for increasing honey production in South America. [DrBob, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004]
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Well-meaning introduction of foreign species has gone horribly awry so many times that I think it's generally regarded as a bad idea from the start now. Sure, it seems unthinkable now that this precious, near-extinct animal would ever become a pest, itself threatening the biodiversity of a region... but outcomes can surprise. |
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There is always the chance that some strain of leprosy hanging around Molokai has mutated such that it turns them into super intellegent apes and pandas, and then learn to make tools, and build rafts, and jets, and well. . .the rest is self explanitory. At least it would give charlton heston something to do. |
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And then in the future sombody sent from earth to space
will return here to find a race of highly intelligent apes
who will enslave him. |
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up on the fence with forni. I think I might chance this one. croissant for bringing the topic up. |
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Cane Toads
Rainbow Trout
Cattle
Sheep
Rabbits
Pampas Grass
Mimosa
Humans
Asian Carp |
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History is littered with examples of introduced species doing untold damage to environments into which they're introduced. |
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For some reason I thought this idea was called Gorillas For Malachi... a story about a little, Jewish kid who's dying of leukaemia, and gets his final wish: To see gorillas in the wilds of Rwanda. |
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t'would be nice if we *all* continued to see mountain gorillas in Rwanda... |
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Oops. Hard to be too careful these days. |
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Not a good idea, for the aforementioned reasons regarding introduced species. |
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I believe that both in New Zealand and in the Galapagos, projects following this principle have been carried out - animals such as kiwis and giant tortoises have been "relocated" (not "restored") to small, predator-free offshore islands - islands which never hosted these animals before human intervention. |
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Granted, the Hawaii proposal is a little more extreme. I am not suggesting that the animals be strewn liberally over all the islands. |
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Maybe Michael Creighton has been hanging around the HB. |
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Oh oh UB, you forgot the prickly pear! |
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Doesn't really count. It was largely wiped out by the introduction of Cactoblastis cactorum (Prickly Pear Moth) and is of little economic or environmental significance any longer. |
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The same moth has, however, caused a decline in the population of Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) in the Boca Raton area of Florida, as the tortoises forage on the cactus, which is now disappearing. |
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Well aren't we the smartarse ;p |
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Aside: The aardvark can also catch leprosy! |
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Grow to 15" overall - they dig 10' deep burrows up to 40' in length. |
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what are the moths doing to the cactus then? |
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oh the caterpillars - I see, sorry so slow today. |
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