8 Terrifying Animal Swarms Created by Human Stupidity
Animals aren't extremely ambitious. Sometimes, however, all they need is a little helpful prodding in the right direction to start conquering everything around them like warlords.
As we first pointed out a couple of weeks ago, human stupidity is always there to give them a helping hand. And where those animals threaten us with their downright creepy intelligence, it's sheer numbers and destructive power that makes us fear the ...
#8.
Starlings
In the late 19th century, a group called the American Acclimatization Society released about a hundred starlings in New York City's Central Park as part of a project to introduce all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's plays into America. Even knowing nothing about starlings, you may recognize this as an idea that is both baffling and terrible.
"I have no idea why I'm doing this."
But if you do know something about starlings, you know they're considered a nuisance because of their habit of roosting in flocks of several million, and then tearing through crops like locusts. The starling is one of the most deeply resented birds in the avian community.
Next to Woody Woodpecker.
"MY GOD ... WHAT HAVE WE DONE?"
The released birds went on to reproduce like mad, increasing their numbers to somewhere around 200 million. By all accounts, starlings are natural terrors. They will force other birds out of their nests and eat their eggs. They swarm in those massive flocks, just eating absolutely everything they can fit in their beaks, stealing food from other species and wreaking havoc on agriculture.
And God help you if you have food left out in the open -- one feedlot in the U.S. had over 200,000 starlings lining almost every spare surface at one time, leading us to wonder why the National Guard wasn't contacted.
This is nothing a flame thrower can't fix.
In 1960, a Lockheed Electra crashed into Boston Harbor seconds after takeoff when 20,000 starlings flew into its engine, killing 62 people on board and proving that the starling's lust for seed is matched only by its thirst for blood.
Thanks, Shakespeare.
"Next, we'll introduce all of Christopher Marlowe's venereal diseases to America."
#7.
Anoplolepis Gracilipes, aka the Yellow Crazy Ant
Think about your bedroom. It's about, what, 10 feet across? The yellow crazy ant is taking over that much land, each day, every day.
The crazy ant lives up to its name because of its tendency to shake and twitch like a mental patient, and also for its strange habit of collecting tin cans in a shopping cart and yelling at random people on the street [citation needed]. One day some of the ants managed to stow away on some trucks and wound up on Christmas Island. They multiplied, and multiplied, and are currently spreading at a rate of three meters per day.
We're like Godzillas to them. If Godzilla was completely powerless and incredibly vulnerable to our most basic weapons.
Strangely, Christmas Island was already famous for being home to millions of aptly named Christmas Island red crabs, who once a year migrate across the island in groups of several million.
So that means the island is now known specifically for being full of tiny creatures with lots of legs that you want to kill with a hammer.
"MY GOD ... WHAT HAVE WE DONE?"
Those first ants that crawled off the trucks went on to form several super colonies on the island, creating the greatest concentration of ants ever recorded anywhere on Earth. Over 30 percent of Christmas Island now belongs to the ants.
Viva la revolution!
And when we say "belongs to the ants" we mean it in the most absolute terms. They're so overwhelming and ravenous that no other living creatures are able to survive in areas that have been infected by the ants, literally leaving them devoid of any other life.
As you can imagine, the ants are utterly devastating to the environment, eating the crabs and becoming bigger and stronger in the process.
That's the difference between the mass of migrating crabs the island is used to and this infestation of ants; the crabs actually don't harm anyone and take over the island for only a few weeks of the year. The ants are slowly and methodically taking over the entire land mass and will never leave, ever.
The crabs also used to spread seeds with their burrowing, but the ants have put a stop to that, dramatically affecting the way the forests are growing and will continue to grow. The ants might as well carry flamethrowers and drive bulldozers.
Luckily, they can't reach the pedals.
Not that crabs can't do their share of damage ...
#6.
Red King Crab
You may recognize these humongous Alaska-native crabs from Deadliest Catch. Well, hell, who could resist having more huge, delicious crab in our waters?
That's enough meat to feed at least a dozen interns. Maybe more if we throw in the crab.
Thus the Soviet Union introduced the Red King Crab into Russian waters in the 1960s. Crab for everyone!
"MY GOD ... WHAT HAVE WE DONE?"
Red crabs 1) travel in huge, dense packs and 2) are extremely voracious eaters -- they will literally eat everything. So they essentially form one huge, living vacuum cleaner, sucking up so much plankton, fish eggs, fish, mussels, clams, starfish, kelp, barnacles and the like that the areas they pass through are left as barren underwater deserts.
It doesn't help that these guys spread and reproduce at alarming rates. In 20 years, their population went zero to 20 million in the Barents Sea off the coast of northern Russia. They're even starting to invade Norwegian waters in what is essentially a charge of communist crustaceans.
For Mother Russia!
They may be a boon to the new crab fishermen in Norway and Russia, but for the rest of the fishermen, they are the devil incarnate. The crabs not only eat all the things the fishermen are trying to catch but also rip apart fishing nets, eat bait off hooks and generally wave their armored balls in everyone's faces.
For some inexplicable reason, however, the crabs are protected through a diplomatic accord by Norway and Russia, basically making them Lethal Weapon 2 villains with shells.
Which means that, collectively, these guys are Mel Gibson.
#5.
Rabbits
Once upon a time, a landowner in Australia named Thomas Austin decided he would like some bunny rabbits. There were none in his country at the time, so he had a dozen rabbits sent to him from England so he could create a local population of the critters for him to hunt, sort of like the movie Predators, only without Topher Grace.
Fast forward to today: Over 300 million rabbits live in Australia. They outnumber humans 15 to 1.
And they all travel in box formation.
"MY GOD ... WHAT HAVE WE DONE?"
Rabbits are Australia's No. 1 cause of plant and animal extinction, literally starving other species to death and eating plants into oblivion. They're also one of the leading causes of soil erosion and crop destruction, costing the continent around $600 million in losses per year and scorching the Earth behind them.
On the plus side? Rabbit-pelt socks are pretty much free.
As a result of the rabbit epidemic, Australia now has a pretty strict customs program, by which we mean nothing gets in or out of Australia, ever. You can't even bring in the peanuts you got on the flight over, even though we're pretty sure peanuts haven't brought about any extinction-level events.
Yeah, the country that is full of scary s**t has been decimated by...bunnies. Our secret is out. Dang....
Reply...that final picture....omgwtfroflmao
ReplyCHALLENGE ACCEPTED. omgwtfbbqwhatisthisidontevenroflmaoidkmybffjilldonotwantlolhardtounderstand
I suppose that eventually, all of these ecosystems will stabilize to accommodate the new, invasive species, but it will take hundreds of years, more probably thousands. It's hard for the rest of the world to adapt to the rapid and unpredictable changes humans cause, but some species thrive with our meddling. I wonder what the fauna of the year 3000 will look like. Lots of raccoons, anyway.
ReplyIntroducing birds that are mentioned in Shakespear? That is the most stupid idea I have ever heard.
ReplyYeah, I'd long known that starlings were introduced, but I'd always assumed it was for a dumb but understandable reason like "I think they're pretty and they remind me of home". But no. It was far, far more stupid than that.
they for got to mention the English Sparrow, same thing. Some homesick idiot brought them from England, They are not a true sparrow and the distroy the nests of native sparrows.
How is #7 the fault of the humans?!
Replythe picture of the anime example (which is a cosplayer) is actually,not cosplaying any kind of anime. he (or she) was cosplaying a Tokusatsu Character (a TV show about costumed heroes like power rangers) and which means,not anime but still japanese stuff.
ReplyAnd I think I speak for everyone when I say NOBODY CARES.
It's probably more relevant that the animals in the painting, wielding their massive nutsacks as weapons, were actually tanuki and not raccoons. If you're going to nitpick, do it right.
The animal in that last pic is not a raccoon, it's a tanuki, an animal indigenous to Japan that has no name in any other language (though some people call them "raccoon dogs") There's a whole mythology around tanuki about them being shapeshifters and their huge balls bringing good luck when you rub them.
Replyor kick them in fear apparently?
So the only question that rermains is why didn't the Tanuki Suit in Mario Bros 3 give your ballbag the ability to hulk out and smack things instead of just turning you into a statue?
I heard that Japan also had a problem with rabbits during the Meiji period. I think before that they only had hares. Or maybe they just bred the rabbits they had more. Whatever the case, they became very popular pets at the time, until the government taxed them more and more until people just started abandoning the ones they had.
Reply"In the late 19th century, a group called the American Acclimatization Society released about a hundred starlings in New York City's Central Park as part of a project to introduce all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's plays into America."
ReplyThis is the most retarded thing I've ever heard.
And will only be outdone in 2385 when the Interplanetary Diversity Project will decide to introduce all of the creatures appearing in 20th century science fiction to Earth's environment. While your great-great-great-great grandchildren may avoid some problems as the Predators and Aliens will take each other out, the head crabs and Things are likely to be a nuisance.
Man, imagine how much you'd freak out if you saw a head crab, and then it split down the middle and was really a Thing.
As a subset to Austrailia's Rabbit problem is the Cat problem. Cats brought to control rats were also a danger to some local species, but like rats they were limited to the outskirts at worst of where man settles.
ReplyIntroduce rabbits, though... Rabbits can live in all of Oz... And where rabbitts can live, 1/10 their weight in cats can live. And as rabbits eat about everything, cats kill about everything, often for fun as much as a snack.
Also, Austrailia has a "Mice Famine" once every 10 years... That's usually on YouTube.
ReplySo that means the island is now known specifically for being full of tiny creatures with lots of legs that you want to kill with a hammer, best quote ever.
"look! that rabbit's got a vicious streak a mile wide...it's a killer! it'll do you a treat mate!" "you mankey scotts git!"
Replybunny rabbits in australia!? This entire problem could be solved with explosive traps in the burrows and low cost, small-caliber automatic firearms!like a 22caliber ar 18 or kalashnikov rifle
Reply Hide All See All 3 Replies... I never in my life thought someone would suggest using a military assault rifle on rabbits. Wow...just...wow.
They tried it. The Australian Army gave up when they realized the tunnels went on for more miles than the collective Red Army had traversed to invade Berlin and that the bunnies had developed a taste for blood.
@raygunraven -you're underestimating how big Australia is, and how many damn rabbits there are.
There's a thing I don't understand: only 12 rabbits conquered Australia. One single snake took Guam.
Reply Hide All See All 4 RepliesHow the hell didn't those species inbred themselves into oblivion? Such tiny gene pools should have collapsed by now
... Or am I showing my utter lack of knowledge about Biology?
I'm not a biologist, but there is a special type of reproduction present in some plant species and bird species that essentially acts as a genetic randomizer in every new generation. It's not complete randomization, obviously, or evolution couldn't progress; but it's enough to prevent extremely tiny gene pools from dooming the population.
There are a couple other factors as well, such as,
1) The effects of harmful traits caused by inbreeding are less obvious in non-human races since they don't bother to care for their marginal young and those born with harmful traits simply die, leaving room for others, and:
2) For all we know they COULD be one rabbit-flu or potato-blight away from oblivion; it simply hasn't happened yet. One hundred years is a very tiny time frame to see all the possible debacles natural evolution has to offer.
Essentially, we don't know as much about population genetics as we'd like to think we do. Theoretically, invasive populations that are established from only a few individuals should be limited by the founder effect, but in actuality many invasive populations show no more or less genetic diversity than native ones.
The case of the Australian rabbits is interesting because the population went through not one, but two bottlenecks due to the release of two viruses into the population (the first on purpose in 1950 and the second accidentally in the 90s). Yet, despite having been established by only 12 individuals, the population was still diverse enough for a large number of rabbits to have natural resistances to both viruses, and their numbers rebounded back in a few decades. There are many theories as to why this happens, but, to avoid stretching out this comment too much, it basically all boils down to the fact that we know essentially fuckall about population genetics. So, hey, future scientists of the world, here's a great place to try and stake out a name for yourself if you don't mind spending a lot of time in school and not really making all that much money!
Short answer: Over time, an inbred population stabilizes.
Long answer: While I am too bored to look up the exact number, each generation of inbreeding, slowly extends the gene pool. After a number of generations of that animal's breeding, the gene pool stabilizes and rare genetic disorders become well rare again. In situations where rabbits or snakes are introduced to an environment without natural predators, the normally soft genetic point (before stabilization) is not met with extermination.
There have been three or four times that humanity was reduced down to about 10 or so total mating pairs (usually around the ice ages), but because all animals were going through a turbulent time, or the fact we can adapt around odd genetic disorders, we survived. The black death worked as a bottleneck specifically for the European gene grouping, and if europeans didn't just shoot the indians that didn't die of small pox, small pox would have worked similar amongst the various groupings in the Americas.
The children of siblings breed with first cousins, the children of first cousins breed with second cousins, and so forth. This leads to greater variation that eventually stabilizes the gene pool. Besides, the children of a first-generation incestuous coupling are not as completely doomed to retardation and deformation as is often assumed. Risks for genetic abnormalities certainly increase, but if you couldn't get viable organisms from incestuous couplings, dog-breeders would be out of a job.
Happy New Year!!~~
Reply Hide All See All 4 RepliesMy friend just met a cutest girl on -- NSArelationships dot c'0m--. It's where for charming woman and handsome man seeking No Strings Attached relationship，safe and private!
It's a nice place for people who wanna find gorgeous intimate encounters....no bounds or extremes in front of true love. XOXO
hey dumbass!this space is for comments,trolls and retarded jokes. NOT some s****y dating website looking for free advertisement.stop the spread of advertising!
Still rocking the tiny terrier eh. Gotta admire persistence in a dame. Keep up with the good work now Mrs. Love
We all know it's a National Security Agency front. Don't try to hide it
I thought that said "NASArelationships" for a second there.
Nothing about the Lionfish? Those terrifying bastards have poisonous tentacles! They're from the Indian ocean but got introduced into the Bahamas thanks to Florida aquariums and hurricanes, and now they're spreading like crazy and killing out all the native species.
Reply Hide All See All 6 RepliesCome on, a swarm of fish with poisonous tentacles spread by hurricanes! That's way scarier than anything you listed.
but it was more natural causees than human stupidity.
they have poisonous spines, not tentacles.
What does it matter... what I took from both of your comments is that they have poisonous barbs. Good enough for me!
@Alexkarasick - they didn't get from the Indian Ocean to Florida by natural causes - That's halfway round the world! The hurricanes only got them from Florida to the Bahamas.
I did a report on that one lol.
No natural predators anywhere. Period.
They have at least one known natural predator in the red sea area, and groupers are known to occasionally eat lionfish.
Snakehead swarms have had horror movies made about them.
ReplyWell I expected Australia to make an appearance, I really didn't expect bunnies to be the reason.
Reply Hide All See All 3 RepliesBunnies are the best known, at least to the outside world.
Basically when Australia say their ultra-strict quarentine laws are to protect their unique ecosystem, I admire their diligence in locking the stable door, but that horse has long, LONG since bolted.
It begs the question of whether or not this is the optimal strategy. As the situation stands, the h**o sapiens of Australia are battling multiple foes on every thinkable frontier. There is no allegiance to speak of, and predicting the enemy's next move is laughable in an of itself.
Wouldn't it be wiser to allow these "bunnies" an opportunity to truly gain the upper hand?
You force your enemies to assimilate and under the guise of non-violence you rob them of all readiness to transgression, and when the trap is finally sprung we will be able utter in one collected voice for all humans!: WE BEAT THE CROCS WHO LAIN IN WAIT IN THE RIVERLANDS!, WE CONQUERED THE SPIDERS WHO ON OUR FEET WOULD FEAST! AND WE OBLITERATED THE JELLYFISH WHOM FOR TOO LONG, TOO LONG I SAY, MADE OUR WATERS THEIR PERSONAL SNACK BOWL.
Also, rabbit stew cook-off in Australia 2014. If you are human! you are invited!. WE WON!
P.S. Bring your own veggies.
I like how "homo sapiens" is censored.
I find it kind of funny (well, relatively funny, since it still involves an area being destroyed by an unwelcome species) that, after all the articles about how Australia is essentially an island of monsters, the thing that's really f**king things up is bunnies.
ReplySee also: the common carp, red foxes, and myna birds. Moving to Australia makes even the most harmless seeming animals start entertaining ideas of world domination.
Also Cane Toads.
Raccoons are really bad. They carry disease, rip s**t apart, and break things. Everytime we trap one, I shoot it with my 22. Get rid of them, they are bad news.
Replybut they also stop crime. The Coon!
His profile pic is a raccoon! Bias!