these carp took over the Great Lakes the world's largest freshwater body when the US imported them from Asia to eat algae together with other invasive animals they destroy the environment choke out other species and threaten humans every year they cost the world $1.4 trillion worth of damage equivalent to 5% of the global economy so who are they how did they end up here and why don't American farmers eat them while domestic pigs are the second most popular livestock bringing in billions of dollars to the US while pigs are an annual $2.5 billion headache for this country and adult wild Bo has a lot of meat because it can weigh up to 400 lb and reach 5 ft long in fact they can be bigger like this 1,50 lb wild boar that's why many centuries ago Christopher Columbus and his Expeditions brought them to America for food and hunting Sports however their numbers have increased dramatically despite control efforts since 2014 while B have escaped and adapted very well giving birth to about 3 L of 10 piglets each year today there are about 6 million to 9 million out there and Texas is the state with the most wild boes about 2.6 million about 50 Mi east of Waco Texas a large field had several holes up to 5 ft wide and 3 ft deep grasslands originally intended for livestock are now seriously invaded by weeds the farmer knew that a herd of wild BS visited the field with their long snouts yesterday many researchers call them the most destructive invasive species on Earth causing nearly 300 native plant and animal species to rapidly decline they sometimes appear in places they aren't welcome such as golf courses in front of people's houses and a plane runway in 1988 because of of that Texas has allowed Farmers to kill wild boes year round without limit many methods have been used from remote controlled traps to hunting from helicopters like famous pig hunter Ted nent this farmer trapped about 61 wild BS last month but a quality trap system also costs more than 350,000 USD and under hunting pressure smart one wild BS know where to hide for safety temporarily Texas has also allowed Farmers to capture them alive and send them to slaughter houses or restaurants as exotic meat dining like this wild boore pepper pit dish at Caribbean can restaurant however many people are still afraid of eating wild B meat because of flavor and hygiene issues they think that wild B meat is hard and smelly actually this strong odor is only from old male pigs with a lot of testosterone hormone so you should only choose young pigs or just cut off that part when processing and the odor will be significantly reduced additionally because wild BS will eat almost anything they can carry nearly 40 different types of parasites swine brucelosis and PUD buys are the most problematic because they are easily transmitted to domestic pigs and pose a threat to the pork industry however this can be completely avoided by cooking wild B meat over low heat for a long time if cooked properly wild Bor meat won't be gy but sweeter and firmer with 1/3 less fat every year Texas holds the wild hog Cookoff in cachula to vote on the best wild board dish and help people get familiar with this type of meat in the' 60s Asian C were imported from Asia to control algae and weeds in the Mississippi River but now they have totaled up to 90% of all fish populations there the US fishery industry lost 7 billion USD because of this most hated fish in America there are four different types of them and they out compete other species by their feeding power and reproduction rate they can give birth to 1 million eggs per year Illinois rivers once bustling with Native sport fish like crappy and lgam mouth bass are now filled with millions of invasive Asian carp some can even weigh up to 100 lb and 4 ft long furthermore they scratch the ground when eating which also affects the water quality although carp don't have front teeth their back teeth look like ours and can Crush hard shell species such as freshwater muscles many of which have become extinct under this feeding power since their escape Asian carp have swam more than 300 M to the Great Lakes which include five large freshwater lakes near the Canadian and American borders so the US installed several layers of electric fences and call for commercial fishing fishermen in Tennessee have harvested more than 10 million pounds of carps since 2018 however this can only be achieved during the cold season because car will be more active in warm water while fish processing Factory iies are popping up many people still shake their heads at the idea of eating invasive carp perhaps partly because carp has a lot of Bones especially w-shaped bones that are easy to catch and make fiting difficult and the most important reason is that they think Bottom Feeders like carp are dirty but actually carp have a diverse natural diet like worms and insects like many other freshwater fish and are generally cleaner than many that people widely consume like catfish to avoid the muddy taste that people may complain about carp should always be kept raw or chilled until 5 minutes before cooking this is how many Europeans and Asians have prepared it since the Middle Ages apart from eating American farmers can still use them as fertilizer just make sure it is buried at at least 1 M down to avoid attracting scavengers and stinking up the whole farm and from 20122 don't call them Asian carp anymore it has been renamed copi by the federal Great Lakes restoration initiative to sound more attractive every minute a coyote is killed although they are not prolific breeders with only one Li of at most seven pups born per year their number is so large that people have organized large scale hunting competitions since the' 40s to reduce it now more than 500,000 coyotes have been hunted each year in the US making them the most killed native mammals coyotes can eat both plants and animals and this makes them a major threat to both fruit and livestock Farm they are said to kill more than 300,000 heads of livestock each year and injure even more the spread of the neospora cannon and Parasite by Coyotes can cause miscarriages and steel births adding up to the loss of $18.5 million to the livestock industry each year not only that in recent years they have begun to move towards cities like Chicago and New York with even more aggressive behavior towards people and pets hunting and suffocating coyote dens with gas is the most popular method Farmers have used so far but perhaps the fastest way is to turn them into staple Meats however coyotes look like dogs and Americans aren't used to eating dog meat so they don't know how to cook coyotes properly either moreover people also see them as Predators which can carry diseases dangerous to humans such as rabies and tapeworms therefore the government still restricts the hunting and sale of coyote meat for commercial purposes but many experienced Farmers still consume coyotes because they think why not eat what you hunt in the 880s these Southeast Asian pythons were brought to the Everglades Florida as pets although some pythons were released into the wild because people could no longer keep them the 1992 hurricane Andrews aftermath caused a massive escape this marked the beginning of the Native wildlife's worst nightmare these adult Burmese pythons which can grow up to 20 ft long and weigh more than 200 lb s eat a lot they even usurp the apex predator status of the American alligator because no species can defeat them in the wild the mammal populations here have decreased significantly with raccoons and opossums declining by 99.3% local farms have also been attacked causing much concern for Farmers over the years the Florida Department eff fish and wildlife estimates that there are between 100 and 300,000 Burmese pythons in the Everglades in 2023 but only 18,154 have been captured since 2000 each year they give birth in large numbers from 12 to 36 eggs and Florida has opened many attractive python catching programs contractors are paid between 13 $1 and $18 per hour Freelancers earn $50 per python up to 4 ft long plus $25 for each additional foot they also receive 200 USD for each python nest removal but this job is so dangerous that currently only 100 of the best python Hunters are licensed here although snake meat may be delicious and is popular in many countries around the world such as China and Thailand American farmers cannot eat Burmese pythons because they are deadly like other apex predators these pythons have very high levels of mercury this is an extremely dangerous poison to the human nervous and reproductive system but local Pro snake Huntress Donna Koo still eats Burmese python meat and eggs several times a year she said that they can replace pork or chicken in recipes but you should use a Mercury test kit to know the level of toxins in the meat before cooking so what about you would you like to try eating meat from any invasive species let me know in the comments below hello my friends did you know Australia is the country country with the highest mammal Extinction rate in the world More than 70% of Australia's native animals are found nowhere else on Earth so a loss for Australia is also a loss for the world one of the biggest threats to Native species is feral cats in today's video we look at how Australian Farmers deal with 6.3 million feral cats
feral cats first appeared in the wild in the 1850s today the number of feral cats in Australia is estimated at 1.4 to 6.3 million wild cats have become a haunting name for Australians especially Farmers feral cats are dangerous invasive species they eat millions of other animals causing ecological imbalance they are considered perfect Hunters patient silent and adaptable many native animals are the perfect size prey for feral cats currently many Native species such as rats only exist in areas free of feral cats such as some islands and fenced areas although they are in the same cat family these stray cats are not cute at all they are aggressive and cause a lot of damage specifically feral cats are linked to the extinction of 25 species of native small and medium-sized mammals and further threaten the existence of more than 100 other native species in Australia among them estimates of the annual predation impact of feral cats on Native wildlife in Australia show that 272 million Birds 470 million reptiles 88115 million mammals were killed along with the undetermined losses were invertebrates and amphibians these massacres are often committed by feral cats living in the bush but cats in town areas also kill large numbers of animals besides they can also injure people on the outside feral cats can be difficult to distinguish from domestic cats they have agile bodies sharp senses and good coordination that are very suitable for hunting wild cats live alone and are active at dawn and dusk during the day they tend to lie in sheltered areas including rabbit holes logs or dense bushes feral cat populations are self- sustaining and able to reproduce successfully thanks to Abundant food sources on average females give birth to two lit per year the first in Spring the second in late summer and early fall under favorable conditions baby wild cats remain with their mother until about 7 months of age they then disperse and live alone these individuals give birth to dozens of other litters of feral cats just like that wob cats expanded their territory and invaded all of Australia the number of feral cats suddenly increased leading to a lack of food therefore they tend to increase their hunting and attacking Behavior to ensure survival like a leopard in the desert the feral cat's gentle steps and sharp eyes are directed towards its prey these unfortunate Ducks will become today's meal usually these birds will be the favorite prey of feral cats when they are hungry although the birds protested it was ineffective they struggled desperately until feral cats tore them apart in fact attacking these small animals is quite easy for feral cats this is a picture of a tiny wild cat attacking a deer you're right this absurd thing really happened in a fight in the wild Victory always belongs to to the fierce Predators strength does not lie in greatness the truly strong person is the one who survives to the end the wild cat is such a strong person they are small but their attack power and brutality are enough to terrify their opponents not only do they attack wild animals feral cats also attack pets when given the opportunity of course your pet is no match for a wild Predator if not stopped in time everything will get worse its outcome will probably be the same as the deer or deer just now feral cats also pose a threat to human health because they can carry infectious diseases such as rabies and respiratory infections the Australian feral cat reduction action plan begins including direct measures to reduce feral cat numbers such as trapping and baiting cameras help plans execute better farmers will know how many stray cats are lurking around their area in addition the most effective form of controlling feral cats on a large scale is using poisonous bait however feral cat bait is only used in Western Australia many Native animals in the area have developed resistance to this poison in some parts of Australia poisonous bait can pose a significant danger to Wildlife what was your first reaction when you saw this image don't let its appearance fool you in fact each of these cute wild cats can kill up to 1,000 native animals each year this problem is getting worse meaning that in some cases the added pressure of feral cats could quickly push other animals out of the world Australia's national scientific agency ceso has reported feral cats kill an average of 1.8 billion Australian animals each year equivalent to 2,000 native animals every minute a terrible number realizing that this situation cannot last the Australian government allows C cens to participate in wild cat hunting activities however this can only be done with a hunting license and in strict compliance with government regulations the goal is to reduce the number of feral cats in the area maintain the ecosystem and ensure safety and efficiency in hunting about 211,000 feral cats were C in 2023 dozens of them were hunting possums in the mountains and others were hunting at night in remote and arid regions of Australia Night comes when feral cats are active in searching for food the Instinct of a predator allows them to operate effectively at night however they did not know that in the distance there were eyes watching and gun muzzles aiming at them in order to optimize the effectiveness of hunting wild cats many people also choose to participate in night hunting activities this is a natural rule if you want to catch a predator you must come when they are hunting during hunts farmers can end the lives of feral cats with a shot but the encroachment of entire feral cat populations cannot the claws of feral cats have deeply invaded Australia's ecosystem in the fall before food is scarce feral cats will hunt small animals for meals they move to areas near residential areas to find food farmers can always easily see stray cats in their Gardens at night through cameras you see controlling feral cats is a challenge locating feral cat hunting takes a lot of effort Hunters often use specialized Lighting systems combined with infrared hunting lights this is extremely useful for night hunts helping Hunters clearly identify the Target and location of feral cats but things are not that simple these stray cats are much more difficult to deal with than we think they are extremely sensitive and have the ability to sense their surroundings very quickly besides cat's eyesight at night is very good so once they have ident identifi the target they quickly Rush In And catch their prey therefore Hunters need to be extremely cautious if detected feral cats will run away or return to attack a night hunting group needs at least two people to support each other all they need to do is hide quietly observe and wait when they detect a Target they will move their hunting equipment towards the target aim and bring back their bodies in fact besides the hardship hunting also brings many interesting things you won't know when the wild cats will appear but the feeling of discovering and defeating them will certainly make you excited this Joy does not come from killing but Farmers know that every shot they fire will help prevent the encroachment of feral capat populations or at least discourage feral cats in the development area in addition to hunting feral cat trapping is also allowed in all parts of Australia all measures are the same the goal is to limit the number of aggressive Predators although feral cats have only existed in Australia for the last 200 years or so they have left a destructive mark on the Australian landscape Escape in recent years Australian Farmers have also made strong plans to limit the invasion of feral cats you see they are very determined to fight these cute looking assassins
2024-05-06