Aliens+VS.+Helpless

 So basically this wiki spaces is invasive species (otherwise known as alien species) vs. endangered species. Hope you like my wiki space. I worked really hard on it. The invasive species that I'm going to talk about are the cane toads, kudzu vines, and the snake-heads. The endangered species that I will talk about are the Spanish Lynx, the Northern Kit Fox, the Thylacine, and the Black Musk Deer.

The cane toads are in invasive species from Australia. They were originally from Africa, but were moved over to Australia to get rid of a certain type of grub that was eating all of the sugar plants. Guess what, they never even ate the grubs because their eating and sleeping habits just didn't collide. Amazing how they were brought over for a reason and how that idea went down the drain so quickly. They basically look like this. Cane toads are large heavily-built amphibians with dry warty skin. They are usually grey, yellowish, olive-brown or reddish-brown. Adults are usually 10-15 cm long, but the largest female in Queensland was 24 cm long. They also have special pores that can shoot out poison when they feel threatened. Their habitat ranges from open clearings in urban areas to grasslands and woodlands. They are taking over the north-eastern tip of Australia though. Their numbers went from early 100s to now in the millions! They are growing quicker and before e they could only travel the length of a yard in 1 night, now they can travel as much as 10 or more! They are adapting, and they're doing it quickly. Some people swerve on the road just to kill them because of their nuisance. Others play with them and dress them up as dolls in some cases, in spite of the poison. In my perspective, the nutty scientists there should have researched more and found out that their schedules didn't collide, or not have done anything and let nature take it's course. As a REALLY old saying goes, things aren't necessarily good, and things aren't necessarily bad.   The Spanish lynx is endangered because of deforestation to their natural habitat. Plus, not only are they being shot by hunters and run over by cars, they are being caught in illegal leg traps set for rabbits. They used to live in the Iberian Peninsula. Unfortunately enough, there are only about 20 pairs left in the world. That means for all of you mathematically challenged, that there are only about 40 Spanish lynxes left all together. Now they live in Coto Donada, the South-Western part of Spain. They eat rabbits, birds, rodents, and even sometimes low-flying partridges. They have keen vision, sharp hearing, and they have an acute sense of smell.



The kudzu vine is an other invasive species that I am going to talk about. The kudzu vine is native form Japan and China. If it were to be left unattended for a ny length of time, it will eventually climb over any fixed object close to it, including other vegetation. It can even kill trees over time by blocking out the sunlight and any other ways that can get rid of it. The flowers that bloom from it give off a very sweet fragrance and the shapes and forms created to the kudzu vine is very pleasing to the eye in the summer months. The following statement appeared from a bulletin 20 years it was first introduced to the Florida range as a forage crop, "Kudzu is not without disadvantag es. It is slow and expensive in getting established, is exacting in requiring only moderate grazing and mowing, is deceptive in it's real yield, especially to those who do not know it well, and sometimes becomes a pest." In the south where the winters are moderate the frost will turn the kudzu leaves into dead ones, and then shortly after, the vines gray and dead as well. The kudzu vine will continue to grow from the past summer until the winter frosts kick in. Around the kudzu area, people say that they just ignore it because there is not much that they can do about it except briefly kill it will herbicide or let the livestock graze on it when it becomes too out of hand. HOWEVER... could you ignore it if it came to these extreme heights?!?!?!?!?!?! healthy kudzu vine 

 The tylacine is another one of the many endangered species out there. They are also known as the Tasmanian wolf, and they are the largest carnivorous marsupials. They may be wolf-like in predatory habits and looks, but they rally are nothing alike. The tail is similar to a kangaroo's tail, and and it can carry 3-4 babies in their pouch. They have been seen to sometimes hop like a kangaroo, too. One of the reasons that this animal is so small in numbers is because of when the settlement process began, it destroyed their prey, turning them to the farmers' sheep. This obviously made it a natural enemy of the farmer. This, though is not the only reason that their numbers deleted. Mostly disease destroyed this really cool animal. It has been suspected of distemper, in 1910. Although of the major depletion, several footprints of the marsupial have been found. The Tasmanian Gov. set a reservation where the Thylacines' footprints and possibly where they are.

 Snake heads are native to China but were imported to the U.S. as aquarium fish and even sushi. Snake heads are a fish-like animal that swims in water and eats other fish. When they are finished with that population of fish in that specific area, the get out of the water and use their front fins to propel themselves to the nearest water source and eat that population, and so on. Snake heads can cause a serious problem for native fish populations if they get established in the waters. A snake head was recently found a Wisconsin river. It was not even identified before being thrown back into the water! It could have been a pet kept in an aquarium that got too big for the person to take care of. This is only one of the many stories that have included snake heads. They are not game fish so there is no limit on fishing them.





The next animal that I am going to tell you about is the black musk deer. They are endangered so don't go looking to kill them people. The black musk deer is about the size of a Labrador (it's a DOG!) It has a speckled course fur with short stumpy tails. The also have longer legs in the back than the back so they stand awkwardly. The male adult black musk deer have prominent downward curving teeth, which is unusual for a deer. The reason that they are endangered is because of people trying to kill and trap them. This is done to obtain a special pod that contains a musk found on the deer, and the musk is very expensive and valuable.



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Resources: [] [] [] Illustrated Encyclopedia of Animal Kingdom 20, 590 Anthony, Jack. "Kudzu-the vine." 25 Mar 2009 .