'Alien Mammal' Invasion of Europe
Alien mammals, including mink, wild boar, racoons, shrews and beavers, have invaded Europe to a greater extent than we thought.
A new study has found that 71 mammal species have invaded Europe since Neolithic times, while another 30 species have successfully extended their ranges across the continent.
At least 58 of these species directly harm either human health or the environment, according to the report published in the journal Integrative Zoology.
group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) based in Valby, Denmark.
The research follows up on previous work that examined which alien mammal species have invaded Europe since around AD1500.
In the latest report, the researchers widened the study period to account for species that have invaded since 2007, the end of the previous study period, and before the 1500s, going back to Neolithic times.
They particularly focused on alien outsiders that now threaten native biodiversity.
Alien mammals have been introduced into Europe on at least 740 occasions, the study found.
For 635 of those, the researchers could reconstruct the date of introduction.
For example, wild boar were introduced into Sicily in the Neolithic age, while humans took lesser and greater white-toothed shrews to Cyprus, and Sardinia and the Balearics respectively, around 9000 to 8000BC.
Most recently, in 2009, American red squirrels escaped into Denmark, probably from a commercial pet breeding facility.
In 2010, Canadian beavers were introduced to Belgium and Luxembourg, while in the same year raccoons arrived in Sweden.
Raccoons were also illegally released into Ireland in 2011.
The UK ranks among the three most invaded regions, with 18 alien mammal species having colonised its shores. The other two are also islands, with 21 alien species establishing themselves in Sardinia and 19 in Corsica.
Domestic cats, feral goats and American mink are among the most damaging invaders, according to the study.
Cats and mink hunt domestic species and out compete others for food, whereas feral goats can graze and trample natural ecosystems, severely damaging them.
"The data shows a dramatic increase in invasion rate since the beginning of the 20th Century, which is still ongoing," the researchers say in their report.
The demand for exotic pets is driving many of the introductions, say the researchers.
Some species are also being introduced so they can be hunted.
"The constant increase in mammal reintroductions and the high establishment success rate raise serious concerns," scientists add.
For example, alien mammals severely threaten the futures of a significant number of native species, including some at a high risk of extinction.
The threat of invasive species also comes from within the continent: 38 species already recorded in at least one European location have gone on to invade another, with 30 establishing themselves in their new location.
Nine of the 26 most influential alien mammals are already of European origin, but have colonised new regions, the report says.BBC
The American mink in Europe: Status, impacts, and control [An article from: Biological Conservation]
Bioeconomics of Invasive Species: Integrating Ecology, Economics, Policy, and Management
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Encounter With Green Glowing UFO
Eden, NC - 8/30/2012 - unedited: It was a extremely bright glowing green sphere with a 2-4 ft. glowing green flame trailing it. It seemed to be shadowing me for about 10 seconds and when I speed up it passed me while I was passing 90mph like I was just sitting @ a stand still. After I told a few peers of this event, the following day one of them called me to report a local news station (channel 5 Star news of Rockingham County, N.C.) had been following the story b/c of so many sightings in Danville, V.a., only thats probably in excess of 45 minutes from my sighting location. I am a rational person that trys to exhaust all rationality in everything before making a conclusion. However this is just one of those times Im baffeled. I seem to be the only witness of this event in my area/county. I contact the local news station only to be informed that theyd been told it was a "science exp." however they seemed to be all of a sudden quick to wanna cut me short now and had no questions for me on the event, though prior to me contacting them they had aired a whole evening news cast where viewers call in to now having no concern to further investigate their big story. This is very unlike this news station, they normally would run this story into the ground, but seemed to have short answers for the situation & asked me no questions nor any desire to prolong my testimony or my questions concerning the event. Reporter [name removed/CMS/dr], who hosted the news show was the reporter I had spoken with. Also I informed [name removed/CMS/dr] of the idea of me being a pretty good artist & my offer to draw the object I witnessed for him to view. Although he seemed uninterested and short to wanna provide any useful info on the event. He did inform me that my sighting was the only one known for my area and that all others had been from Danville & that the other witnesses also caught a close (like myself) contact with the U.F.O.. I dont really know what I saw, however I know that due to its size, shape, vivid colors, ability to react to my reaction to accelerate away from it, & all w/o any noise/sound with the sighting I know undoubtably that it was No science experiment unless it was military. The distance alone beteen the other Danville sightings & my own would alone suggest that it was inprobable to be such.
*Please contact me anytime via house or cell phone. [witness info removed/CMS/dr] Thankyou giving us "Joe Smoes" an ability to be heard. - MUFON CMS
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Giant worm found in gutter of house in China
A half-metre-long earthworm was found in the gutter of a house on Thursday in southwest China. Li Zhiwei, a worker from the Forestry Bureau of Binchuan County, saw the slinking worm by the gutter when he was putting out some Chinese dates to dry in the backyard.
"It looked like a snake, I looked carefully and found it was actually a huge earthworm," said Li, who added that he decided to keep the worm and raise it in his backyard. The elongated earthworm has attracted neighbours, who have never seen one this long before.
Depending on the species, an adult earthworm can be anywhere from 10 mm long and 1 mm wide to 3 m long and over 25 mm wide. An earthworm's body size is closely related to their environment, and depends on variables like the weather, precipitation and the texture of the soil.
They tend to grow longer and larger during humid seasons if they intake sufficient nutrition and have no natural enemies. Biologists plan to study the long earthworm that Li found and define its classification and perhaps identify the reason why it was able to grow so long. - KSLA
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Sheriff’s department investigates Sasquatch sighting
Sheriff’s deputies investigated a possible Sasquatch sighting last week near a campsite at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve.
The Vernon County Sheriff’s Department received the report from just one person, who was driving near South Jug Creek Road in the town of Stark.
“The person who called it in was driving down the road, and they saw what they described as a dark-haired… Sasquatch,” Sheriff John Spears said. “It looked like it was hiding in the ditch line. When they went by, it jumped.”
Spears sent a patrol car to the area, but the deputy turned up nothing.
While all calls are taken seriously, Spears said the the Sasquatch sighting has led to a few giggles around the department.
Reading from the report on the incident, Spears said, “All that they could tell us was it was a large figure that was dark in color, black-brown in color, with no clothes and it looked like it was just fur.”
The person calling in the report said, “There’s no way it could have been a wolf,” Spears said.
The department released details about the incident Tuesday among the 22 reports of suspicious activity it fielded last week. The alleged Bigfoot sighting occurred Thursday.
“That same day we had some peacock problems in the county, so it was one of those things where you never know what you’re going to get on any given day,” Spears said. “After I signed the press release, I figured I’d probably get a few phone calls.” - lacrossetribune
Monsters of Wisconsin: Mysterious Creatures in the Badger State
Story in the Snow: Encounters with the Sasquatch
Monsters Myths and Me: And now my eyes are open
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Ancient fish-eating pterosaur found in Germany
A new species of pterosaur, the flying reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs, has been discovered in Germany. It dates from the late Jurassic period, around 155 million years ago, making it one of the oldest pterosaurs known.
The skeleton, excavated last year in the Bamberg district of Germany, is beautifully preserved. The animal had unusually long arms and legs, ideal for wading in water. Its jaws were shaped like the beak of a flamingo, allowing it to filter small organisms from the water. Those must have included fish, the remains of which were found in its stomach.
The specimen is going on display at the Bamberg Natural History Museum. - newscientist
Live Pterosaurs in America: Not extinct, flying creatures of cryptozoology that some call pterodactyls or flying dinosaurs or prehistoric birds
Pterosaurs (Exploring Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures)
