Python Invasion
Florida’s Everglades National Park is teeming with
plant and animal life. The famously swampy region is
valued as a habitat for rare species. Still, last week
wildlife workers were not pleased to find a 16-footlong Burmese python slithering through the grass.
Growing numbers of pythons and other
reptiles are threatening Florida’s
Everglades.
The enormous snake was a long way from home.
Burmese pythons are native to Asia, and not typically
found in North America. But they are becoming
increasingly common in Florida, along with rock pythons
and African pythons.
“We don’t have any idea how many there are,” says
Linda Friar, a spokeswoman for Everglades National
Park. “This is the biggest [python] we have ever dealt
with."
Thousands of pythons are thought to now live in the
Everglades. These snakes are an invasive species—
animals or plants that move into an area and harm the
native animals or plants.
DANGEROUS INVADERS
Invasive species usually arrive at a new home by
accident. Scientists believe the swarm of snakes
slithering through Florida may have begun with pets
being released by careless owners or breaking free
during hurricanes. Other invasive species arrive in an
area by hitching a ride on planes or cargo ships that
travel around the world.
This might not seem like a big deal. But invasive
species can disrupt the fragile balance of an
ecosystem. Pythons tend to eat rodents, birds, and
even smaller snakes, taking away food from Florida’s
native alligators and crocodiles.
PHOTO: This python was found to have
eaten a 76-pound deer
MAP: Many kinds of plants and animals
live in Everglades National Park. (Jim
McMahon)
The snakes are eating bigger animals too. After
animal-control officers killed the Burmese python
found in the Everglades last week, scientists examined
its body. They learned that it had swallowed a 76pound adult deer. And in 2005, a python was found to
have eaten a 6-foot-long alligator.
Scientists and wildlife officials are now studying
Python Invasion
1.
What is the Everglades National Park famous for?
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2.
Name three types of invasive species in the Everglades.
a.
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b.
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3.
What do pythons eat?
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4.
What caused the wildlife workers to be displeased?
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5.
What are the effects of an invasive species on and ecosystem?
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Today’s Special: An Invasive Species
Illinois plans to get rid of an invasive fish by getting people to eat them!
If you can’t beat ’em, eat ’em! That’s what government officials in Illinois have
decided to do with Asian carp, a fish that’s damaging the ecosystem (system of interactions
between living and nonliving things) of the state’s waterways.
Asian carp are considered an invasive species—an animal or a plant that moves into an
area and harms native animals or plants. Invasive species usually arrive at a new home by
accident. They may come on cargo ships that travel around the world, for example. Some
invaders are brought to an area on purpose to be sold as pets or food.
Officials have been trying to prevent Asian carp from spreading since the fish
showed up in the lower Mississippi River in 1970s, but they haven’t succeeded. The fish have
swum farther and farther north ever since. Asian carp are now so numerous in the
Mississippi River that they are known for leaping out of the water by the dozens.
This might not seem like a big deal. But invasive species can disrupt the fragile
balance of an ecosystem. Officials hope to stop the fish from reaching the Great Lakes in
the north. If Asian carp reach the lakes, the large fish might harm the native plants and
animals that live in the waters.
WHAT’S FOR DINNER?
Now Illinois hopes to solve the problem by making the fish a part of people’s diet.
However, despite the fact that Asian carp are widely eaten in China, many folks in the U.S.
confuse them with native carp, bottom feeders believed to contain lots of pollutants.
To change the image of the Asian carp, the state has recruited famed chef Philippe
Parola, who calls the fish “silver fin.”
Parola, who believes the fish taste like a cross between scallops and crabmeat, says one can
prepare silver fin by poaching, pan-frying, or breading and frying.
Officials in Illinois have even begun promoting the fish as a solution to hunger.
Several weeks ago, the state launched a “Target Hunger Now!” campaign that could put Asian
carp on the menu to help feed people in need.
“Asian carp actually [are] pretty tasty,” says Chris McCloud, spokesman for the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources. “[They taste] like what I think people would
consider a normal white fish.”
Today’s Special: An invasive Species
1. What does ecosystem mean?
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2. According to the article, what are two ways invasive species get into the
country?
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3. Why do the officials want to stop the Asian Carp from reaching the Great
lakes?
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4. People believe that the carp is native to that area. What effect does this
then have on the people’s decision?
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5. What is the cause of the “Target Hunger now” campaign?
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