What are invasive species Invasive species are plants and animals that do not belong in the ecosystems in which they now live This book is about invasive animals that were taken from one part of the world to live in another Sometimes these animal strangers arrived on ships by accident Some were introduced by farmers to eat animals or insects that caused damage to crops Others were brought to new homes as pets Invasive animals eat the foods that native animals need to survive causing the numbers of some native animals to decrease until they become endangered Endangered animals are in danger of dying out in the wild or places that are not controlled by people Find out what problems invasive starlings can cause see pages 20 21 Where and why are these cute bunnies invasive See page 13 Why are red eared slider turtles not good pets See page 23 4
Which invasive animals thrive Invasive animals that thrive in new habitats or natural homes are those that are able to live in many kinds of habitats can eat many kinds of plants or animals grow quickly and make a lot of babies have few predators in their new habitat can adapt or adjust to living near humans Some people own cats or dogs as pets but other people like more exotic pets that have come from faraway places Snakes such as Burmese pythons red-eared slider turtles toads and lizards are bought as pets by people who think they are different and fun Many of these pet owners soon discover that it is hard to care for these animals and then abandon them in the habitats of native animals 5
Pythons on the loose The natural home of Burmese pythons is in marshes or grassy wetlands in Southeast Asia These large snakes eat small animals such as mice rabbits and birds People have captured and brought many pythons to North America to be sold as pets Most pet owners however find these big snakes hard to feed and handle Thousands of unwanted pet pythons have been abandoned by their owners in Florida’s wetlands known as the Everglades Pythons have no natural predators there to keep their population down Pythons are predators that grab their prey with their teeth and then squeeze them until they die These snakes can hurt their owners especially children Would this be a good pet for you or this child Why or why not Pythons can grow to be more than 20 feet 6 meters long and weigh 200 pounds 90 kg 6
Invading Florida It is estimated that tens of thousands of pythons now live in the Everglades These snakes eat many of the same animals eaten by predators native to the Everglades such as foxes bobcats and panthers This invasive species is causing a decrease in the numbers of prey animals Some native animals may become endangered because there is not enough prey animals left for them to eat Predators such as bobcats and these endangered Florida panthers are losing much of their food to pythons 7
