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happyslug

(14,779 posts)
3. Raccoons, American Beavers and American Locust trees are invasive species in Europe.
Tue Jun 9, 2015, 04:37 PM
Jun 2015

Raccoons were introduced in the 1930s during the Raccoon Coat Craze of that decades, some escaped:

http://www.kora.ch/index.php?id=78&L=1



http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/germany-overrun-by-raccoon-invasion-a-847847.html

American Beavers were believed to be the same as the European Beavers, but later shown to be two different species who can NOT interbreed:


http://www.lhnet.org/eurasian-beaver/


Gray Squirrels are another invasion species in Europe, threatening the native Red Squirrel

http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1958657_1958656_1958395,00.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/magazine/07squirrels-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/introduced-species-pose-environmental-threat/

http://scottishsquirrels.org.uk/squirrel-facts/did-you-know/

Please note, where small native predators are reintroduced in Europe, Gray Squirrel population drops and native Squirrel populations recovers, but this require the reintroduction of predators that many people oppose:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/30/how-to-eradicate-grey-squirrels-without-firing-a-shot-pine-martens

And finally the Locust post, I mean Locust Tree. My father always called them Locust Posts, even before he cut them, Locusts are the best tree to use as posts, once dried they can last for decades being used as a post. Logs from Chestnut Trees were used a rails in fences, but rotted quickly if used a post, thus locusts were the preferred tree for posts and seeds were sent back to Germany for use in Germany and elsewhere and are now in invasion species in Europe:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_locust

http://www.livescience.com/50732-black-locust-tree-shaped-the-united-states.html

http://www.european-trees.com/locust.html

List of Invasive species in China:

http://monkey.ioz.ac.cn/bwg-cciced/english/cesis/invasive.htm

http://www.china.org.cn/environment/features_analyses/2009-06/03/content_17880215.htm

Here is a list of the 100 worse invasive species:

http://www.issg.org/database/species/search.asp?st=100ss

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