Cursed Knowledge #21: Invasive Species
October 5, 2023·15 comments·In Brief
Cursed Knowledge is our podcast that explores how narratives, for better and worse, have shaped our world without us noticing. The world is full of people pushing their version of reality on us and it’s time to expose the truth. No matter how much you might wish we hadn’t.
Invasive species are a known “bad thing”. An organism that’s introduced to an environment and ruins it. So why don’t we do anything about them? And is there even anything we can do?
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Comments
Yes! I was thinking about that show when talking about that part. It’s an insane story and yet not that surprising.
@Harper_Hunt Due to your love of snakes, I recommend you watch Season 1 of “Killing It”, the hysterical Craig Robinson comedy on Peacock— hunting Burmese Pythons in the Everglades for bounties is a key plot point.
I have my reason now to make a trip to Grand Cayman. Thanks!
I’ve had lionfish tacos in Grand Cayman. They are delicious.
Smallmouth Bass.
“Step on them” - Ben and Harper Hunt re: Spotted Lantern Fly. Individual action!
“Toss them dead back into the river or into the woods” - Smallmouth bass in the Rapid River, Maine, as of 2020.
Yup, a favorite native fish which most everybody, myself included, loves to catch and occasionally eat has become an invasive nuisance in the native Brook Trout waters of Maine. The bass cannot be eradicated, and this rare refuge of wild 3-5# brookies has this big stress to deal with so fisherpeople are encouraged by the State to kill all bass in this river, and to keep an unlimited number with no size restrictions in the upper half of the State. It’s in the regs.
It feels so odd to be such a different type of person when fishing this area. Normally I carefully release 95+% of all gamefish caught, but here I kill and toss all bass like a madman (most are 6-10”, if over 14” that gets released into the frying pan) and carefully send all trout back to their homes.
Native fish. Highly regarded until it goes where it shouldn’t (usually illegally via “bucket-biologists”)
Lionfish in the Florida Keys: Lionfish Hunting in the Florida Keys
I’ve heard that if you catch a lionfish in the Keys, someone will be happy to cook it for you. (I’m still looking for a confirmation of that factoid!)
And horses: I used to take lessons at a barn where someone had an adopted mustang that probably had some Andalusian ancestry. The horse was just beautiful, and they made a great team (specialized in dressage), but it took an incredible amount of work and patience, well beyond what most people – even horse people – have.
They’d be easier to kill if they didn’t look so cuddly! The spotted lanternfly should take notes
Here’s a picture of what looks like Bayou Jamie Dimon holding his pet nutria. (His name is Neuty, obviously)
I knew these guys were invasive but had no idea they were getting involved in politics! I also vaguely remember that a wildlife reserve had a huge hunting expedition done to clear them out.
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