smedz
Ursus abstrusus
Recent Graduate
Posts: 410
|
Post by smedz on Mar 28, 2020 21:06:17 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Mar 29, 2020 2:11:28 GMT -5
Interesting article. Sometimes an invasion of new species can be a good thing and, of course, sometimes not. In the American West, of a long period of time, little by little as some horses would escape the Spanish settlers, they became the feral horses known as mustangs. Cattle did the same thing from numerous breeds from numerous cultures. They became the feral cattle known as range cattle. Later, after roaming the prairie as wild as bison for a couple hundred years, they were rounded-up and became known as Texas Longhorns. Another farm animal to do this; mostly in the South, were the pigs which became feral and known as razorbacks. None of these introductions caused any damage to the ecosystem. The dingo of Australia and the Carolina dogs of southern N. America are a couple of examples of carnivore invaders that seemed to do alright.
|
|
smedz
Ursus abstrusus
Recent Graduate
Posts: 410
|
Post by smedz on Mar 29, 2020 17:38:20 GMT -5
I spoke with Erick Lundgren today, apparently he'll even defend the most notorious invasive species. While he's done good work with wild burros, let's be real. If anyone defends pythons in Florida, then they're really a big animal rights activist, in fact even peta recognizes the importance of eradicating pythons. As for not publishing that paper, he showed me two papers favoring wild boars. If you can do that with those animals, then why couldn't some one do the same for pythons? Besides, why should we listen to this guy when literally every other authority out there would disagree with him?
|
|
|
Post by OldGreenGrolar on Apr 27, 2020 3:08:20 GMT -5
There have been many invasive species over the years.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2020 3:42:58 GMT -5
Specifically the rats are the most invasive species. It's just that we didn't have much access to press that time that we fail to realise it.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on May 12, 2020 2:01:33 GMT -5
There has always been invasive species through natural means. Consider Beringia. Or the bridge that once connected North and South America. Now we have pythons in the Everglades. I really don't understand the panic. Pythons are not born huge. There are fish, turtles, birds, mammals ( raccoons ) and other snakes that will consume baby pythons. Sure, pythons will eat small alligators; but alligators will also eat small pythons. Giant hornets. If they have natural enemies in Asia; they will find some here in N. America too.
|
|
|
Post by King Kodiak on May 12, 2020 8:20:18 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by brobear on May 12, 2020 9:20:39 GMT -5
Quote: They've eaten practically every mammal in sight—and have no natural predators. *An adult python has no natural predators in Florida. Neither does an adult alligator.
|
|
|
Post by King Kodiak on May 12, 2020 9:52:50 GMT -5
Quote: They've eaten practically every mammal in sight—and have no natural predators. *An adult python has no natural predators in Florida. Neither does an adult alligator. Well, remember that we have the Florida black bear at Everglades, the largest florida land mammal, it would be an interesting interaction.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on May 12, 2020 9:54:36 GMT -5
Quote: They've eaten practically every mammal in sight—and have no natural predators. *An adult python has no natural predators in Florida. Neither does an adult alligator. Well, remember that we have the Florida black bear at Everglades, it would be an interesting interaction.
Agreed. A python once swallowed a sun bear. ( only once that we know of ). Young bears beware.
|
|
|
Post by King Kodiak on May 12, 2020 10:03:29 GMT -5
Well, remember that we have the Florida black bear at Everglades, it would be an interesting interaction.
Agreed. A python once swallowed a sun bear. ( only once that we know of ). Young bears beware. Yeah, it was an adult female sun bear of the island of Borneo. Those are Around 27 to 50 kg, 120 cm.
|
|
|
Post by tom on May 12, 2020 19:17:10 GMT -5
Quote: They've eaten practically every mammal in sight—and have no natural predators. *An adult python has no natural predators in Florida. Neither does an adult alligator. So how big of an Alligator would it take in your opinion for an adult Python to move along and leave it be?
|
|
|
Post by brobear on May 12, 2020 20:15:00 GMT -5
Quote: They've eaten practically every mammal in sight—and have no natural predators. *An adult python has no natural predators in Florida. Neither does an adult alligator. So how big of an Alligator would it take in your opinion for an adult Python to move along and leave it be? I have seen gators that looked to be cow-sized ( in bulk ); huge.
|
|
|
Post by tom on May 13, 2020 8:00:54 GMT -5
I'm guessing it would take a Gator of over 5 feet for the snake to not consider it prey.??
|
|
|
Post by brobear on May 13, 2020 8:13:05 GMT -5
I'm guessing it would take a Gator of over 5 feet for the snake to not consider it prey.?? You might remember the story, a few years back, when a 13-foot python swallowed a 6-foot long gator. It was first reported that the snake swallowed more than he could handle, when he was discovered burst open with the alligator half-in and half-out. But a zoologist said that the split was caused by a second alligator taking a bite of the snake. So, I would assume that a 6-foot alligator would probably be just about the python's limit. Also, as this alligator bit the python, I would assume that some pythons are eaten by alligators. I would bet the same takes place between the black caiman and the green anaconda.
|
|
|
Post by tom on Oct 12, 2020 10:28:02 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by tom on Oct 12, 2020 11:14:54 GMT -5
They say these Bumese Pythons have no natural enemies in Florida. Would a 10 ft plus Gator make an attempt to prey on a snake that size?
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Oct 12, 2020 11:23:10 GMT -5
They say these Bumese Pythons have no natural enemies in Florida. Would a 10 ft plus Gator make an attempt to prey on a snake that size? I believe that "Burmese Pythons have no natural enemies in Florida" is a wrong statement. A python starts his life within a leathery egg ( unless these snakes give live birth as some species do ). Raccoons and probably a few bird species will devour snake eggs. A raccoon will eat baby snakes. Wild hogs ( razorbacks ) eat snakes. Various water birds eat small snakes. So ( IMO ) a python is a lucky snake if he makes it past the "feed the alligator size" - probably about 10 feet ( guess ). I would think that after about 6 feet long, he is probably out of danger from the Eastern kingsnake.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Oct 12, 2020 11:29:42 GMT -5
Honestly ( and I probably stand alone on this ) I believe that, if left alone, these pythons would fit right into the Everglades ecosystem. If modern man had been around during the Pleistocene, they would have been gathered, heavily armed, to kill all of the Asiatic species migrating across Beringia into Alaska.
|
|
|
Post by tom on Oct 12, 2020 12:17:29 GMT -5
There are those that would disagree with you of course.
I tend to follow the biologists opinions. A female Python can lay 50-100 eggs a year. If only 25% of those survive till they're big enough where nothing will prey on them that's still one hell of a lot of snakes to grow to adult hood. Personally, if Burmese Pythons had always been a native species to Florida the smaller mammals would have learned to avoid these predators through sheer instinct. Some regardless would succumb to the snakes, but since these Pythons have only recently (35 years or so) been part of the ecosystem, thus left unchecked and have grown to full size they become unchallenged.
|
|