Exotic Species Living in the UK

I know this is semi irrelevant as its not in the UK but there are a lot of ring necks parakeets in Tenerife. Although these may be african ring necks that have migrated as opposed to Indian ring necks which are commonly kept as pets in the UK.
 
Don't forget that some of the introduced species have been exterminated. Muskrats were eliminated before World War 2 and coypu in the 1980s. It's happening now with ruddy duck, which were introduced accidentally when the staff at Slimbridge couldn't catch all their ruddy ducklings to pinion them. They are being shot to prevent them spreading into Europe where they could hybridise with white-headed ducks, which are in enough trouble already. Even the black rat has been eradicated from many islands and mainland areas.
On the other hand there seems to be no prospect of eliminating the worst pests including the brown rat, grey squirrel, Rhododendron ponticum or Japanese knotweed.
If you want further information, there are 299 factsheets available from the Biological Records Centre Factsheet list | GB Non-natives Factsheet Editor

Alan
 
gentle lemur said:
Even the black rat has been eradicated from many islands and mainland areas.
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Ironically, this is largely due to the introduced brown rat outcompeting them and causing them to go extinct in the UK barring a single permanent colony in the Outer Hebrides and occasional, short-lived populations at ports. One wonders if we should introduce some form of mongoose to deal with the introduced brown rat and grey squirrel, next..... ;) :p

There was an old woman who swallowed a cow,
I don't know how she swallowed a cow!
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat,
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.
 
Black Rat.

TeaLovingDave said:
causing them to go extinct in the UK barring a single permanent colony in the Outer Hebrides
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I have a nasty feeling there are plans afoot to eradicate the Shiant Isles colony too- because of the presumed harm they do to the large seabird colonies on the Islands. This was done on Lundy Island too, to help the Puffins- despite no proven evidence the Rats were the actual cause of their decline.

Two species(both increasing) which can have an effect on Grey Squirrel numbers longterm are Goshawk and Pine Marten. Squirrels are a favourite prey of both (yum,yum...) More than once I have seen Grey squirrels give alarm calls and freeze or hide in response to a hunting Goshawk.
 
I can't remember where I heard it, but I'm pretty sure I've heard Goshawks prefer Red Squirrels.

While it would be good news that they would prevent grey squirrels getting too numerous and damaging trees/taking nestlings and eggs, predators won't have a huge effect.
 
its always amazed me we havent got a real top predator in the Uk now except birds of prey etc. perhaps we should re introduce wolves or the like
 
mazfc said:
Well as of yesterday, we have a raccoon dog in the area of Chesterfield, as someone's pet raccoon dog (I kid you not) has got out and gone walkabout!
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We no longer have wild raccoon dogs, he's been found. Very battered though poor lad, bloodied and with lost teeth, he was 6 miles from home and appeared to have been run over.
 
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mazfc said:
We no longer have wild raccoon dogs, he's been found. Very battered though poor lad, bloodied and with lost teeth, he was 6 miles from home and appeared to have been run over.
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shame some of us are just not designed for outdoor life
 
lamna said:
I can't remember where I heard it, but I'm pretty sure I've heard Goshawks prefer Red Squirrels.
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For a European Goshawk, Red squirrel would be its natural prey, given Grey is introduced. So its possible the bird is better programmed to target Reds, though I think they will still hunt Greys in areas where no Reds occur anymore.
 
Beavers

Good news for the Beavers in East Devon too- they are being allowed to stay- for now. I am unclear whether they are going to try and prove in the meantime(DNA test?) if they are European or American though, and whether the result of that will affect their longerterm prospects.
 
Grey squirrel are also slightly bigger, and possibly harder to kill. But I'm sure they'll make use of them if they have no other choice.

As introduced species go, the grey isn't that bad, ecologically. Not great if you're a red squirrel but they fill the same niche and don't seem to harm much else.
 
lamna said:
Grey squirrel are also slightly bigger, and possibly harder to kill. But I'm sure they'll make use of them if they have no other choice.

As introduced species go, the grey isn't that bad, ecologically. Not great if you're a red squirrel but they fill the same niche and don't seem to harm much else.
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Grey Squirrels being bigger makes them slower and a more rewarding meal. It would be interesting to know how they fare against Goshawks in Wales or Northumberland

One of the reasons why Grey Squirrel has become such a nuisance over much of lowland Britain is the lack of non-human predation. Perhaps Goshawk, Eagle Owl and Pine Marten will be allowed to increase to a level where this ceases to be the case, and pro - active conservation of Red Squirrel outside its core range has a greater chance.
 
IanRRobinson said:
Grey Squirrels being bigger makes them slower and a more rewarding meal. It would be interesting to know how they fare against Goshawks in Wales or Northumberland

There are plenty of Goshawks in the New Forest nowadays and I imagine Grey Squirrels must form a significant part of their diet. Being mainly woodland and heathland, Rabbits or game birds are not at particularly high density there. I don't know what else would be a staple prey species for them in this situation.
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