anothernewb
Member
how to deal with an "invasive species" can be a tough thing. Hear me out on this. Humans tend to think of things along a narrow window of time - we can't help it - we don't live that long - so we shape the world around us within our timeframes.
many of the species we have around us today are the result of "invasion' of one form or another. It's just that the time frame is usually a little less compressed. animals and plants migrate - that's a natural process that everyone accepts. Heck - humans were once the "invasive species" too.
That aside - we have the capacity today to introduce species int environments that are far removed from their origin, into areas that have been isolated for so long that the local ecology has no chance at all stopping a population explosion. and the rate of introduction of new species is probably at an all time high simply because of our mobility.
Does that mean it's okay for a new species to be put somewhere, and we shouldn't do anything about it? - not necessarily, in fact - not even close. There are plenty of examples of areas where we brought a new species with good intentions in mind- and it's pretty much blown up in our face.
But - I think another part of the perception is again - our own limited window into time. Nature is so pervasive that it absolutely refuses to let entire sections of creatures it's worked so hard to produce - die out easily. local plants and animals adapt and survive. Albeit in severely reduced capacities in the short term. Sometimes - yes they do die out. We wouldn't be here without that process either.
Sometimes there are benefits - The great lakes, and some of the areas near me are having issues with zebra mussels - and they surely do suck. Walleyes are suffering greatly - However - smallmouth bass populations have exploded in some infested waters. (and grilled smallie is absolutely delecious - and a damn sight more fun to catch) Lakes that also had problems with milfoil invasion are also seeing drasic reductions in that particuar invasive species in infested waters as well. Lakes that have milfoil in them have loss of some of the larger fish species - but panfish, bass, and bait fish populations are higher than ever in them.
okay that was really wordy an sort of rambled on. back to the feral hogs.
Initially I was with the side of controlling them - it's useful for a pro-hunting stance.
But when I learned you don't get bacon out of them? meh - wipe em out. A pig you can't make bacon from is like a cow that can't become a steak. It's an evolutionary dead end. Send them the way of the dodo.
many of the species we have around us today are the result of "invasion' of one form or another. It's just that the time frame is usually a little less compressed. animals and plants migrate - that's a natural process that everyone accepts. Heck - humans were once the "invasive species" too.
That aside - we have the capacity today to introduce species int environments that are far removed from their origin, into areas that have been isolated for so long that the local ecology has no chance at all stopping a population explosion. and the rate of introduction of new species is probably at an all time high simply because of our mobility.
Does that mean it's okay for a new species to be put somewhere, and we shouldn't do anything about it? - not necessarily, in fact - not even close. There are plenty of examples of areas where we brought a new species with good intentions in mind- and it's pretty much blown up in our face.
But - I think another part of the perception is again - our own limited window into time. Nature is so pervasive that it absolutely refuses to let entire sections of creatures it's worked so hard to produce - die out easily. local plants and animals adapt and survive. Albeit in severely reduced capacities in the short term. Sometimes - yes they do die out. We wouldn't be here without that process either.
Sometimes there are benefits - The great lakes, and some of the areas near me are having issues with zebra mussels - and they surely do suck. Walleyes are suffering greatly - However - smallmouth bass populations have exploded in some infested waters. (and grilled smallie is absolutely delecious - and a damn sight more fun to catch) Lakes that also had problems with milfoil invasion are also seeing drasic reductions in that particuar invasive species in infested waters as well. Lakes that have milfoil in them have loss of some of the larger fish species - but panfish, bass, and bait fish populations are higher than ever in them.
okay that was really wordy an sort of rambled on. back to the feral hogs.
Initially I was with the side of controlling them - it's useful for a pro-hunting stance.
But when I learned you don't get bacon out of them? meh - wipe em out. A pig you can't make bacon from is like a cow that can't become a steak. It's an evolutionary dead end. Send them the way of the dodo.