I'm surprised you didn't mention the American Signal Crayfish, they can cause terrible damage to river banks not to mention the impact it has on the native crayfish. I've seen both a Signal CF & a Mink on my local stretch of the Trent. As an angler my favourite predator to fish for is the Zander.....another non native species!
Your cat belongs on the list too! Cats come from the Middle East originally and were brought over by the Romans almost 2000 years ago. Lucky for them they're too cute to be kicked out of here
As a boy, over five decades ago and living in Norfolk, a friend and myself were fishing on a stream bank. My friend suffered serious damage to his calf by a coypu. He had his legs dangling over a hole in the bank and the adult, it's assumed, must have thought he was attacking it's young, which were nesting in the hole in the bank, so got it's teeth into his leg and tore most of his calf away. We'd heard stories and had been told to avoid them, but nobody said they lived in holes in the stream banks. Funny how a memory from over half a century ago can be triggered just by the name of an animal. Thanks for uploading.
Great video! Here are some interesting creatures you could’ve included .Yellow-tailed scorpion .Aesculapian snake .European green lizard .Wall lizard .Agile frog .Pool frog .Edible frog .Marsh frog .Alpine newt .Raccoon dog .Egyptian goose .Signal crayfish
Very informative. As an angler, I come in to contact with 4 of these on a regular basis - King Carp (Obviously), Mink, Muntjac Deer and the Mandarin Duck. In the 80's, Carp numbers were low and they were a rare catch with a small band of obsessed anglers targeting them who became quite famous eg Chris Yates. As their exploits became legendary, more anglers wanted to catch Carp and as such they were stocked in to many lakes (From where some have escaped during floods and are now in rivers and canals). Fast forward 40 years and they are pretty much everywhere - Their feeding habits cloud up the water and as you stated they have been a problem for our native Carp, the Crucian. Not only do they hybridise (These fish are referred to as F1's , which are deliberately bred and stocked in lakes for match anglers as they will be smaller) but they also outcompete the Crucian for food and have wiped them out in many venues. They have also affected the Tench, again they will outcompete them and in many lakes where I used to catch good bags of the 'Tinca' they are now a rare sight. A conservation programme is underway where some lakes are either being constructed specifically for the native species or numbers of the Carp are being removed to give them a fighting chance. Mink predate on fish as well as water voles and have caused massive damage to the stocks in some rivers eg The Kennett. The Otters get the blame for it where they have been re-introduced in a haphazard method but in many cases it is the Mink that is the culprit. I was fishing on Friday and had a family of Mandarins next to me that I fed with casters (Maggot chrysalis). When the Mallards and Coots saw this, they moved in and bullied the Mandarins off the feed. I can't see them, with their relatively small size and docile nature, being too much of a problem. One you did miss off is the Red Signal Crayfish - An American species that was brought over to farm for food, they have escaped in to many river systems and through them in to lakes. They have virtually exterminated their smaller European cousins and cause massive damage to both the banks where they burrow and also to fish stocks where they hoover up spawn at breeding time. EA regulations are that these must be destroyed and removed if caught as a damaging invasive species.
I mentioned the Signal Crayfish before seeing your comment! As a fellow angler I know of the damage they can do, especially in undermining banks etc. Have you ever seen one? I saw one once when washing my hands after handling a fish.......ruddy huge great things, like small lobsters! I've also seen a Mink (same spot actually) a couple of times, thus is the Trent in Notts.
@@supernoodles91 Done more than see them, have caught a fair few - If you have worms, maggots or luncheon meat out they will grab it. Had 3 at the Royal Berkshire fishery a couple of weeks back, the third was a huge male in full red breeding colours, nightmare to get off the hook without getting nipped, seriously aggressive.
@@cliffdixon6422 Really?? Ruddy 'ell!😂 I remember the one I saw, it was in about 6" of water, it could obviously see me, as it had it's claws up in a 'defensive' pose, like it was challenging me to a fight!😂 A quick kick of the tail and it was gone!
I grew up in South London and am pretty familiar with parakeets and terrapins (A lot of leg injuries on waterbirds from them at The Isabella Plantation, where we went for days out.) But about ten years ago, one of those hornets was in my living room, just sitting motionless above a window. We knew what it was and shooed it out. I had no idea I was supposed to report it or so few had been seen. I'd have caught it had I known that. I'm sure my mother will have a photo somewhere, it was an ugly so-and-so.
Fascinating Liam. Many of these newcomers have and will do huge damage to native animals/birds. Meanwhile our successive governments sit back and allow it to happen until it is too late to retrieve the situation. Best wishes from Belfast Castlereagh hills.
I was about to say "I'm surprised not to see the signal crayfish in there" but it's in the thumbnail for the next video. Nailed it. I didn't know the last entry either. I'm going to get stuck into some more of your content right away.
Rabbit, Brown Hare, Little Owl, Pheasant, Red Legged Partridge, Rats, House Mice, Many freshwater fish species, Canada Geese, Countless Plant species, Roman/Edible Snails, etc etc.. there are so many introduced species now.
I play golf in the midlands and see many of the wildlife mentioned in your video. I've also witnessed Chipmunks running around within 10feet. The internet suggests that there are more than 1000 of them in the UK.
Thanks Liam, your videos are always super educational! I read that rabbits aren't native to the UK and were introduced by either the Romans or Normans.
Here in New Zealand, introduced stoats have had a major impact on native biodiversity, so when I saw the related mink on this list I was immediately like "oh no.."
All the introduced browsers & grazers are also seriously damaging. And are vigorously advocated for maintaining excessive populations everywhere by many hunting interests, who often oppose any effective control of numbers. They have repeatedly shown they are not able or prepared to provide much useful control, & have liberated new populations of some species. Vulnerable natives need habitat as well as protection from predators.
I've seen terrapins in the Thames a few months ago in the docks at Canada water and Surry quays the parakeets are all over London now they have actually become like a tourist attraction in Hyde park and will land in your hands for food
That was most enjoyable to watch thank you. I had no idea that racoon and midwife toad had been recorded in Britain. So as they say, 'You learn something new every day!'!
Thanks! Midwife toad are actually fairly common, I have helped to discover 2 populations so far and expect to find more in the future. As they are so small and they dont seem to move around very much, they are usually confined to a rather small area. For example, a population I helped discover in Cambridge is almost completely restricted to the back gardens of 2 rows of terraced houses and has been there for about 15 years!
I think the biggest home for them is in Kingston on Hogsmill Lane opposite the Royal Mail depot. I was working there in Christmas 2020 and theres a green space opposite, thousands would gather on the trees during day break and they would all start screaming and chirping. I should have recorded it.
The carp were kept by monks as as at certain times [especially Lent], they abstained from meat, but not from fish, so many monasteries had a carp pond to provide fish for the community, especially for communities which were along way from the sea or major river.
The red-eared turtles (“sliders” is what the locals call them) vary in coloration across their range. It looks like the ones that got introduced all over the world in the pet trade came from Texas…
A note about the Asian Hornets, this species is not the same as the "murder hornet" invading the US - that's the Asian Giant Hornet. The ones invading the UK are Yellow-Legged hornets, which still have a pretty nasty sting, but are much less agressive or dangerous than the Giant Hornet.
Not just terrapins but also snapping turtles were part of the TMNT craze in the 90s. There was one at a local pond. As a kid I remember seeing it catching and downing ducks. Luckily that one was eventually caught and removed from the pond. As for raccoons, it's thankfully now illegal to breed and sell them as pets in the UK. Same with raccoon dogs, which look similar but are actually related to foxes. Like the raccoon, they've become a serious invasive pest in Europe and a few have turned up wild in the UK.
There have been a number of wallabies living wild in Scotland for decades now. They're very unlikely to spread though as they all live on an island in the middle of Loch Lomond.
Raccoons …..WOW 🤗 I’m stunned 😳 ! Some of these creatures are so often seen, as with the numbers of squirrels, but for the most part many of us have only ever glimpsed these other little fellas in few places, as yet……..🐟 🐢…..🐝 …..🦌 …… ? Thank you for such an interesting documentary ❤️👌🏼
I Remember when I Backpacked around Australia in the 90'same. The Cane Toad in QueensLand. There are Many Billions Now BUT They Only Imported/Released 104 Toads in Total 😨
My friend saw a huge black cat in the fields at 5.30 am recently, far too large to be a domestic cat. Do you think there are wild large cats out there?
Great video! Another non native deer is called Pere David's deer, they exist in small herds but there used to be more. The good aspect of this is that when they were hunted to extinction in China they were reintroduced.
I didn’t know the squirrel had passed on an illness at 50 I’ve never seen a wild red squirrel but I have seen a yellow bellied slider. I really liked your video great job.
I know of one place locally where there are at least 3 large terrapins that have been living there for a long while. Every now and then, I'll hear that someone has seen a duck being taken by one of them although I've never seen that myself.
I live near a Victorian Fort which is surrounded by a moat. I have seen on several occasions Terrapins sunbathing on the reeds in the middle of the moat.
There are quite a number of invertebrates here such as false widow spiders and in the south west a non native small spider with iridescent green fangs.
What about Wallabies? Last summer (2021) I saw three road kills in north Devon on two consecutive days. I’ve read that there are a number of breeding groups in the Peak District and in the south west, but I’d never seen one before and have yet to sight a live one.
In my part of the USA (Louisiana), our biggest pests are European house sparrows, European starlings, red ear turtles, and nutria. Florida is much worse, with many more reptiles that threaten native species. Thanks for the video, I enjoyed it!
Greetings from the United States. Some advice here regarding some of your entries: first off, the raccoon can be shooed off with a broom. Just remember to stick to the broom. They are mostly nocturnal and actually they will attempt, in some cases, to try and live in the eaves of the house (and more rarely the attic.). They can and they will get bitey, so petting them is a no no. Too many people have seen Guardians of the Galaxy and don't realize they only look cute and will defend themselves violently if they think they're in danger. They also can carry rabies, but the possibility is very remote in the UK. And they will raid your garbage at any chance they can get. Mind those trash bins!! Gray squirrel - why upper crust idiots keep whoomping around on horseback after foxes, I don't know. You can shoot these AND help Squirrel Nutkin at the same time. They are edible and the Cherokees have been eating them for centuries. Carp-they will eat almost anything. By this, I mean bait. The Mississippi River currently has a big problem with their cousins, the bighead carp. Imagine a carp that weighs several pounds and gets easily scared by an outboard motor. Yep, yep, that's what happens. Imagine just passing through and suddenly out of nowhere a carp that weighs several pounds smacks you in the head like a rugby ball and it hits hard enough to leave a mark. The local solution has been to fillet these fish and then hash up the meat and deep fat fry with spices. Ahh, Memphis style fish balls: Piquant tasting breaded and fried fish bowls that was a little hot sauce make you want to slap ya mama and the recipe works on grass carp too. And last, but not on the list, are those signal crayfish: better to ask for forgiveness than for permission. Learn how to make crayfish etoufee, get big ass pots, and eat like kings. If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em!!
There are also some really weird ones (albeit in very small numbers), like Coatis and Wallabies that have been spotted in the wild of the UK recently. Where I live has TONS of the Parakeets. They regularly roost somewhere, then fly over my home to a local park, where they spend most of the day socialising, only to return to their roosting site in the late afternoon. Their numbers have exploded over the course of the pandemic here; not sure why, could be their competition decreasing in number that relied on people, or just the overall quiet led more of them to explore the area.
Coatimundi? I am shocked. Keep in mind the US has those in extreme southern Arizona and they must be freezing their nuts off in the UK. (I mean no disrespect, man, but they come from a warm climate. Scotland must look like the tenth circle of hell to a coati.)
On the Isle of man we have a huge colony of wallaby. The Government did a survey in a small area in the north of the island an counted 560. But we have seen them in the middle and south of the island,so there are probably about 1000. They don't do any harm and just eat grass. They started in the 70s as escapees from a small zoo.
The Carp were brought to the USA by European citizens who missed them in America. I'm very sorry to see the raccoons and mink are establishing a population in the UK. We had a few thousand mink escape a fur farm this spring in Pennsylvania. Although they're native here, those were too many for the area to support. I have a Indian Ring Neck for a pet. She's a great bird! I wouldn't have known they would survive loose. Your climate isn't much different than ours. Amazing how many animals have been introduced all over the world! You do have very interesting videos! Safe travels and God bless
Thank you very much. Interestingly carp are quite a sought after fish here when it comes to catch and release fishing, but in the USA they are usually much larger but not targeted by many anglers. Thanks for your comments and for enjoying these videos.
The Norfolk Broads where the coypu were the biggest problem is a massive area which is hard to keep proper track of. Thus it's possible that there are some coypu in this area.
Yeah, that's my local patch. I do think if they were still about though, there would have been photos by now. Especially given.how busy the broads are these days. But I'll never say never.
Great share Liam Some surprises for me there especially the Racoon!! Hope there’s not too many of them about. Our woodlands around here are so very quiet - even at this time of year. Muntjac are so numerous - you’re guaranteed to see at least one when you’re out. Such a shame And the Parakeets have now reached mid Bedfordshire but we haven’t seen them here as yet. Just a matter of time 😨😨 Really interesting again mate👍👍👍
Thanks! The Raccoon sightings thus far have all been towards the west of the country so none in east anglia at the moment. Ring necked parakeets are here in Norwich and even further east (they are within 100metres of the most easterly point in mainland england at lowestoft). Which part of bedfordshire are you? I spent the first 8 years of my life in Sandy and visited the rspb reserve there a few times whilst at Uni.
@@AShotOfWildlife hiya Liam. Apologies mate. Just seen your comment We’re in North West Bedfordshire so we’re about 15 miles from Sandy. Used to go there a lot as a kid, but only been a couple of times lately. 👍👍
@@neilferguson7176 don’t no about Englandshire? Not allowed to hunt in Scotland without a license and no one will give u one to kill Muntjac which in all honesty are harmless little fuckers and not doing any harm
People's cats are so damaging to wildlife. Estimated 275 million small animals and birds tortured and killed every year in the U.K. They also carry the most PROLIFIC parasite known to mankind (Toxoplasma Gondii) Linked with mental illnesses, anxiety, road-rage, risk-taking and all sorts of other lovely things. Could be a parasite in your brain, on account of skanky cats. Gotta love dogs and fireworks as well for the wildlife!!!!
Ring-necked parakeets, three years ago, tried to occupy the 125 year old plane trees which line a road across the end of my road in north London. The crows and magpies which had already claimed them took exception but it took them all summer to see the invaders off. I watched them through my binoculars from my balcony. Fascinating birds but really noisy. They're now visitors who turn up in the afternoon for an hour, do whatever it is they need to do and then go back to their new headquarters down the road in some of the trees along the disused railway line down the road.
Very interesting. They are a "pending" species here in norwich at the moment. They have encircled the city in small numbers but haven't made it to the city centre yet. We do have a lot of gulls here though so I suspect they may be keeping them at bay.
Excellent video. Several species I'd no idea were here. Racoons for instance! Must admit as long as they're not a problem I'd be happy to see Mandarin Ducks. 😊
Toddle down to Maidenhead on the Thames and hire a boat there. Head downstream towards Windsor and you might well get lucky. There's a small colony, and you CANNOT miss the males if you see one!
Technically Britain has three native Deer, Red Deer (Cervus elaphus), Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus), and Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), Reindeer are a British (Scotland) native, like the Beaver, they are Re-introduced, not introduced. Reindeer was running around Scotland before the original stock was wiped out about 800 years ago.
@@samuelbarrett9403 The Muntjac Deer species, that was introduced into the UK, is the Reeves's muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi), they are native to South-East China, so not UK natives, not even European natives.
The Chinese water deer population in East Anglia, although alien, is now vitally important. They are thriving here but are critically endangered in China. They are remarkable animals.
What we consider important has a backseat to our mindless reproducing, eating and "modernisation", all we are doing is prolonging the inevitable desolation of every species larger than a rat by our own ignorant, flailing, boldly defecating way that our species loves to pretend they are doing the world a favour by killing everything and not even knowing it
It is a shame that even some of the wildlife rescue centers seem to ignore the law in regards to dealing with none native species in that it is an offence to release any none native species back into the wild the law states that they cannot be kept but humanly euthanized there is a well known centre (not named for legal reasons) who regularly rerelease none native species and have even done it on camera, sadly the animal rights protestors did more harm than good
Not that I agreevwith it but legally you are allowed to keep them captive, you just mustn't allow them to breed or escape. I am all too familiar with local rescues who do the same. Its an understandably complex situation though as in my mind, releasing a rehashed grey squirrel in a place where there are already loads of them doesn't pose much in tge way of risk to natives. Rereleasing one somewhere on the periphery of their range on the other hand, could have a real impact.
@@AShotOfWildlife I worked for the Herts & Middlesex wildlife trust over forty three years ago we had to destroy grey squirrel drays if found in any of the nature reserves we hated it when we found that some nearby rescue centers were releasing them back into the reserves even though told not too, the idea of returning some species is a grey area the European bison is capable of doing a lot of damage of they get out of the enclosure the North American Bison is docile compared too the European. Like any wild animal if they feel threatened will attack the other reintroduced species the wild boar has been known to attack humans who accidentally stumble upon them whilst walking dogs, if you see some of the UA-cam videos of American Bison attacking car's they show that even the heavy SUV'S are easy to lift up like a child's toy and their horns can easily puncture a car door. I have been up close to the American Bison in the Highlands wildlife park (Scotland) even in a large 4x4 one bull made it look like a smart car, you are warned that if they start crossing the road you stop apparently not long after our visit they stopped letting car's through as one of the old bulls took to attacking one or two vehicles.
@@AShotOfWildlife very much agree with you although from my personal perspective if squirrel pox was somehow removed as a factor whether through some sort of vaccine combined with a cull of greys then reds could coexist in ranges they used to dwell in.. Perhaps lower in number due to the competition between the 2 species but at least not dying out in those areas
Coypu aka Nutria. We need to do more to control mink and the pesky grey squirrel that were introduce by the Duke of Bedford at Woburn Abbey in Hertfordshire. My grandfather didn't help as he shot a Red Squirrel in Lincolnshire about 100 years ago & had it stuffed. I didn't know that Raccoons had been release here 😮 I knew a lot had been kept as pets in Germany and either been released or escaped.
I've always wondered if it was a coypu I saw at a fishing venue in Lincolnshire several years ago. A mate and I were walking around the lake after a match. No one around. I briefly spotted a large almost orange rodent. Plenty of rats at this place but this was the size of a cat. The guy who fished that particular peg said there was a massive rat in the adjacent reedbed. I was always convinced it was a coypu. I didn't realise they were supposedly eradicated.
I saw a raccoon in the wild one night when I was driving home. I was approaching a curve in the road, when my headlights caught it’s distinctive face in front of me. Nobody believed me. I also saw a wallaby on more than one occasion.
there was a petshop near me in rochdale that was selling racoons as pets not so long ago, it's since shut down after appearing on channel 5's "can't pay, we'll take it away" the guy paid his debt on the show but at the cost of his business sadly, store has been shut ever since
I had a Asian Hornet fly into my house back in 2007. I killed it by stepping on it but it had a really hard skeleton, it didnt get squashed straight away and I split it in half with the side of my shoe and it made a crunchy noise. Also there are some much more interestesting non native species in the UK. Wallabies yes the small Kangaroo things are able to survive the climate and have been here since the 1900s. Wild bore also escaped enclosures and set up wild populations in several parts of the UK in recent years and I believe they have recently just reintroduced the Bison to the UK.
Yes, lovely video, when you can't get out yourself it's the next best thing! I like the relaxed style of the videos which include more than just the highlights, and the music suits them well. Where's it from, incidentally? Thanks again!
SE London and Kent has been flooded with parakeets for the last 10-20 years, I would say. Of course, it may be due to how recognisable they are, but it seems that only pigeons are more common these days.
At first, the exotic green visitors were fun and exciting. Now they're a total nuisance. The horrific screeching of their arrival at dawn, dusk or whenever they come is jarring and it spoils the more appealing songbird tunes. They aggressively drive other birds from seed feeders and I've seen them draw blood when biting down on the legs of pigeon competitors. They also evict our native woodpeckers from their hollowed-out nests in trees. Culling in order?
They are a concern to those that have pet parrots too. I have green parrots and see so many times in lost bird groups that someone has seen a green parrot but they have 10 people telling them it will be a wild one (even if it clearly isn't a ringneck or is on its own and seeking out humans).
Here in my part of Scotland the hunting of grey squirrels is actively encouraged and places advertise contacting organisations if one is spotted. The gamekeepers take care of Mink in our area and our wildlife is thriving but the next problem has just arrived, the Magpie. Someone thought it would be a good idea to release Beaver(past native) into the UK's fastest flowing river, now because of the damage they are doing to riverside trees a plan is being propased to move them 1000ft up a mountain into places where they could do some good.
AND vice versa: we can also think of the non-native species that the British and other emigrants brought out to Australia and New Zealand. For instance the farmers wanted to bring cattle, pigs and sheep. And for nostalgic reasons people also brought the blackbird which thrives in the whole of eastern Australia and New Zealand. Western Australia, where blackbirds are considered a pest, has avoided an invasion of blackbirds so far.
Yes. I would love to include them in an upcoming version of this video but I don't have any footage (and there isn't any available) at the moment. I am going to try to film them this summer though.
No mention of the various scorpions and spiders that have been living around Dover,Newhaven, Southampton and Felixstowe for about 40 years, easy to spot at night with black light torch 🔦 👌
Thank you Liam I’m certain that I saw a coypu when with my uncle many years ago we were in the area I’m now 73 yrs old I sometimes think I dreamt it but still think I saw them that’s what I was told they were by my father and uncle
Yes, that is quite likely. Coypu were apparently fully "eradicated" from the UK in 1989 but there have been occasional sightings of them since- unconfirmed for the most part.
Thanks Liam! Well researched and informative as ever.. I suppose you could say that the introduction of non native species is a tale of unintended consequences.. Nice one! 🌟👍
Thanks! In the future I plan on doing a video about species that have naturally colonised the UK in the last 50-100 years. Most of these will be birds so hopefully that'll appeal to you :)
As a Canadian, here are some tips about our native raccoons: - super intelligent; females pass on their knowledge to their offspring - very dexterous; comparable to a 7 year old human child - curious; if it's a challenge or a puzzle, it will not give up until it's solved - full of parasites; don't bother to eat them, instead kill them for their fur - useful; if you can't get rid of them, choose one near your home to feed your food waste, thereby acting as an organic refuse bin
Interesting. Hopefully we wont have a real problem with them and people will stop releasing their pets. Although those crossing from france in the back of lorries (real story) could become an issue and would be quite difficult to prevent.
@@AShotOfWildlife If nothing is done to curb the raccoon population, it will just boom and cause trouble. Here in Canada, there are plenty of predators to control the raccoon population, such as, coyotes, wolves, wolverines, bears (black, brown, grizzly, polar), hawks, owls, eagles, etc. So it's a non-issue in Canada except for in Toronto where it's reported to have approximately 200 per square km. Which is why Toronto is nicknamed Raccoon City. Also, they are nocturnal, and if you see any roaming during the day, it is rabid and must be avoided or put down.
@@OM617a Killing them for their fur is a great way to decimate the unwanted population of an invasive species. Like I said earlier, eating them is not an option. Therefore, to be environmentally friendly at least use its fur so that the entire carcass does not go to waste. Raccoon fur is great for gloves, hats, boots, bags, accessories... you can get quite creative!
@@rjjcms1 We already have Lynx. In bigger numbers we have Black Leopards, Puma/Mountain Lion, Jungle Cats, Caracal and Ocelot. They are very secretive and masters of hiding away from humans most of the time. Fortunately they pose little threat.
Yeah, quite a surprising one but they are genuinely expected to become a proper established species at some point. They have been known to smuggle into the country in the back of lorries. I am hoping to see the scorpions in kent next week, if my UV torch arrives in time.
I actually love the Ring necks. I live on the outskirts of London in Surrey. When we 1st moved here at 5.30am every day they would settle on a large building at the bottom of our garden and turn it green there were so many. Now because the council are killing them off i only see the occasional one, which is sad. Grew up in Dorset and a few times ive seen Wallabies in the middle if the road, after being hit by cars.
Hi Liam, when I was a kid I seen a tarantula my aunties garden In the north of England in the mid to late 80s, it was on an apple or pear tree, I was so surprised, when I ran to get someone I could not see it! No wind up! Also you could have mentioned the Large Puma black cats that people see! But then maybe your in the cryptozoology area too much! 😂 I sub’d
That sounds like a crazy story but it isn't implausible that one had escaped from somewhere nearby or been released I guess. I had a similar thing with an alpine newt when I was younger (much less exciting!) Im currently editing part 2 of this video but still no big cats. I may do one in the future but its perhaps a bit too sensationalist for my liking. We will see! Cheers!
@@Steves_fish There's the incident when BBC sports presenter Claire Balding was on the radio in a forest in England and saw a large black animal crossing the path. Black Panthers were kept as pets until it became illegal in the 1970s and instead of being euthanized were released. And they're still around. Ps I live in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, and collected this story from friends. It happened years back. They live on a main road and their daughter lives in a property that is behind theirs so the gardens abut one another. They saw a long black curling expressive tail hanging out of a tree in the daughters garden, and the animal attached to that tail was a black panther. When you hear people talking about these animals they talk about the tail. This is a wealthy town and I suspect what was seen was an illegal pet that got out.
I live in West Yorkshire there are loads of parakeets in my garden, I've seen terrapins in the river, and an otter chasing a mink once, it was definitely going to kill it. Last year l also saw a hummingbird moth. That was off the charts.
@@Steves_fish l live by a river, its all a bit rustic. I came home one day in the afternoon, and police had blocked off every route around my house. I asked them why, they wouldn't say anything except " it's wierd!". They were all stood on a foot bridge just looking about. I have had my suspicion that there is a panther about, screaming birds in the night and stuff. Then when l Googled it, someone saw one about 3 minutes walk from my house. I then saw big paw prints in the sand. Told folk at work and they all think I'm mad and take the piss. 😆. They didn't believe me about the parakeets and love birds either, till l showed them the photos. UK.
@@Steves_fish well put it this way, l went looking for paw prints, and l never expected to actually find them. Who knows, might be my imagination, but 2 sightings in the same spot very close by. Will just keep my eyes peeled, even in Africa no one ever sees them. Would be great to spot one. I can dream.
Another great video. I live in Dorset and a few years ago on the way to work! I hit a mink that ran across the road in front of me, it had a small rabbit in it mouth. I checked the rear view mirror but it was gone…
Ring necked parakeets are actually beneficial in some ways. They compete with Magpies and reduce the predation of song bird nests, of which Magpies are the main culprits.
Hmmmm not sure that’s a good thing, magpies are indigenous and if they prey on songbirds then so be it, that’s life🤷♂️🤷♂️ only caveat is if magpies have flourished due to a predator being artificially reduced in numbers.
@@Jabber-ig3iw The predator being artificially reduced in numbers is humans. At one time, magpies were widely shot to prevent song bird predation. Now, this would be likely to result in court action. The RSPB claims that magpies have no effect on song bird numbers. All I can say is that in the last 10 years I have had no successful nests in my garden. All have been predated by the hordes of magpies in the area.
Well, since you've already got raccoons, now you need beavers, muskrats, coyotes, cougars, black bears, grizzly bears, brown bears, wolves and lots more snakes!
Britain should never ever see the return of wolves, Bears or any big cat ( apart from the wildcats) There's not enough land left for those creatures to roam in without coming into contact with people which could prove to be fatal for either!
@deanbarnett8538 Rewilding britain would help. The only reason things are the way they are is because afew people decided to turn the entire country into cow pastures. Aside from the fact that there are just far too many people and we should just breed mindlessly until there is no room for anything else. Either way, we killed and replaced entire ecosystems to be here, the uk was a rainforest before humans actually arrived. It is arrogant to say that they shouldnt be here and we should.
@@DG-iw3yw Just remember that when Animals come into conflict with humans, there's only one winner. Don't worry about it. It's a process called natural selection and you are one of the winners!
Around 20 years ago me and my friend had stopped on a bench to partake in the devils lettuce. By the time We finished up and hopped onto my moped it had turned dark. I put my key in the ignition and the lights came on to reveal a huge black cat stalking towards us only meters away. The sound of the engine startled it and it ran off in one direction while we quickly rode off in the other. I’ve always wondered if we would have been attacked if we stayed there for just a minute longer than we did before hopping on my moped.
Only a tithe of the non-native aliens in Britain I have to say. For instance there are any number of non native fish species that have been introduced including zander, wels catfish, orfe (or ide if you prefer), bitterling, rainbow trout, grass carp, goldfish, non native sturgeon species, pumpkinseed, channel catfish and others.
Yes indeed. I would like to do more videos like this but there is very limited footage available of most of them fish and filming them myself is not feasible at the moment.
Absolutely brilliant video, loved it. Thank you. I do really like your longer video. The wife and I like to watch them in the evening with a cuppa tea and a biscuit.
Hi Bryan, thank you very much. Some people like the longer videos and others prefer the shorter ones, so I do a bit of both to keep people happy and I quite like making the different styles also. I dont know if you have seen my latest video, its a bit longer and may be in the style you enjoy the most. Next up is a kingfisher fact file and after that will be a longer video with lots of interesting wildlife from near Scotland. Have a great day!
Thanx for an amazing video 🙏 I just spent around 20 minutes trying to figure out what the hell is 'koipew'... didn't cross my mind to check the video discription. We call this animal nutrija here in Croatia. I didn't know this is it's other name.
Koi are colored varieties of the Amur carp - Cyprinus rubrofuscus. The Eurasian or European carp (Cyprinus carpio), formerly known as the common carp, has leather, mirror, king and wild varieties, and although they are closely enough related to Amur carp to interbreed, they are different species. Hybridisation of crucian carp (Carassius carassius) with Eurasian carp is very uncommon in the wild, but such fish are often produced in hatcheries for stocking purposes. Hybridisation of crucian carp (Carassius carassius) with released goldfish (Carassius auratus) in the wild is however a major problem. Oh, and the hornet that you initially showed appears to be a native, European hornet. The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) has yellow legs - which can be seen clearly in the latter shots.
Hello. Thanks for the info about Koi, It's something I was told years ago and just thought it to be true, I didn't realise they were a different species to the others. Every day is a school day. With regards to the hybridisation, I know its listed as one of their leading impacts. I haven't researched how often it happens in the wild but it'll make for some interesting research later. I'll have to look back through the video with regards to the hornet, it isn't my footage and was definitely listed as Asian hornet. Anyway, thanks for your feedback and have a good day.
@@AShotOfWildlife It's nice to see carp recognised as non-native. Fish for stocking in commercial angling lakes are typically hybrids between Eurasian carp and crucian carp (known as F1s) or hybrids between Eurasian carp and koi carp, (known as ghost carp) but pure king carp strains also remain popular. Interestingly, barbel are only native to east flowing rivers in the UK, and their introduction into the Severn and Wye systems was an act of ecological vandalism on a par with the widespread stocking of carp in stillwaters.
@@baldieman64 I am going to do a second video on this format and will include goldfish and perhaps another non native fish. I have checked the hornet and I believe it is a giant hornet but of the Japanese colour variation. It was filmed in Japan and is listed as giant hornet.
@@AShotOfWildlife Fair enough. The hornet we have as an invasive species here is a little smaller than our native ones, and leg colour is the easy way to spot the difference. Native ones are surprisingly chilled unless you're a bumble bee. I've watched them slaghter bumble bees by the dozen but despite sitting just a couple of meters from the nest, they had no interest in me. When the British Isles were separated from the main European mainland by rising seas at the end of the last ice age, Barbel were present in the rivers such as the Thames and Ouse, that once flowed into the Rhine, but never made it naturally to the western watersheds. They were introduced to the Severn by a group that included the Angling Times in the 1950s. Obvious invasive fish to look at would be zander, wels catfish, orfe/ide and rainbow trout, but more interesting ones might be the limited populations of bitterling and pumpkinseed that are apparently still present.
Nice calm, informative and interesting. I've seen the parakeets in my local park. They're nice. Far less harmful to other bird populations than magpies, I'm sure. Remember when seeing a Magpie was a rare treat? "One for sorrow..." etc? Now they are everywhere. Every other bird seems to be a magpie (London) and they eat smaller birds.
Good point about magpie predation - and they've wiped songbirds out where magpies are too numerous. The parakeets are aggressive to other birds though, and prevent them feeding at garden feeders.
@festo8885 if you knew the history of this place, then you woild know that every single human in the uk, their ancestors immigrated here. Get over it. Even the celts, get this, were not native, so get off of your high horse. Go to the hospital and tell me how many white british doctors are actually there, not that many, you can blame immigrants or you could blame your own ignorant culture
I'd love a racoon as a pet! They've got little hands!!! Or a squirrel. Groups of parakeets often visit my area but then disappear so they must move around & there's a pond full of red ears near me too. All I wanna see is the racoons!!!
We have raccoons!!!! An island here in Scotland had them then they died out due to lack of resources, many years ago now but if I seen one, it's going in my bag and coming home - couldn't care less what people say. Humans destroy the eco system a lot harsher than what any "invasive" species would do.
I'm surprised you didn't mention the American Signal Crayfish, they can cause terrible damage to river banks not to mention the impact it has on the native crayfish. I've seen both a Signal CF & a Mink on my local stretch of the Trent.
As an angler my favourite predator to fish for is the Zander.....another non native species!
We saw a lot of them up the moores
Come fish the Coventry canal, it's full of them
Zander in the UK? WOW NEVER KNEW
My neighbour called the RSPCA telling them that there's a racoon in her garden - it was my Maine Coon cat 😾
Maine coon cats are beautiful ❤ gentle giants
Reported for racism
Big kitties 😸
Your cat belongs on the list too! Cats come from the Middle East originally and were brought over by the Romans almost 2000 years ago. Lucky for them they're too cute to be kicked out of here
😂😂
As a boy, over five decades ago and living in Norfolk, a friend and myself were fishing on a stream bank.
My friend suffered serious damage to his calf by a coypu.
He had his legs dangling over a hole in the bank and the adult, it's assumed, must have thought he was attacking it's young, which were nesting in the hole in the bank,
so got it's teeth into his leg and tore most of his calf away.
We'd heard stories and had been told to avoid them, but nobody said they lived in holes in the stream banks.
Funny how a memory from over half a century ago can be triggered just by the name of an animal.
Thanks for uploading.
My gosh! That's terrifying. How did it effect your friend, physically?
Great video!
Here are some interesting creatures you could’ve included
.Yellow-tailed scorpion
.Aesculapian snake
.European green lizard
.Wall lizard
.Agile frog
.Pool frog
.Edible frog
.Marsh frog
.Alpine newt
.Raccoon dog
.Egyptian goose
.Signal crayfish
Cheers. I hope you have seen part 2 of this video, featuring some of the species you have mentioned
Tory toads
@@pauls3204Labour lizards and ginger growlers.
Love a ginger growler!!!
Red squirrel. Cows.
Very informative. As an angler, I come in to contact with 4 of these on a regular basis - King Carp (Obviously), Mink, Muntjac Deer and the Mandarin Duck. In the 80's, Carp numbers were low and they were a rare catch with a small band of obsessed anglers targeting them who became quite famous eg Chris Yates. As their exploits became legendary, more anglers wanted to catch Carp and as such they were stocked in to many lakes (From where some have escaped during floods and are now in rivers and canals). Fast forward 40 years and they are pretty much everywhere - Their feeding habits cloud up the water and as you stated they have been a problem for our native Carp, the Crucian. Not only do they hybridise (These fish are referred to as F1's , which are deliberately bred and stocked in lakes for match anglers as they will be smaller) but they also outcompete the Crucian for food and have wiped them out in many venues. They have also affected the Tench, again they will outcompete them and in many lakes where I used to catch good bags of the 'Tinca' they are now a rare sight. A conservation programme is underway where some lakes are either being constructed specifically for the native species or numbers of the Carp are being removed to give them a fighting chance.
Mink predate on fish as well as water voles and have caused massive damage to the stocks in some rivers eg The Kennett. The Otters get the blame for it where they have been re-introduced in a haphazard method but in many cases it is the Mink that is the culprit.
I was fishing on Friday and had a family of Mandarins next to me that I fed with casters (Maggot chrysalis). When the Mallards and Coots saw this, they moved in and bullied the Mandarins off the feed. I can't see them, with their relatively small size and docile nature, being too much of a problem.
One you did miss off is the Red Signal Crayfish - An American species that was brought over to farm for food, they have escaped in to many river systems and through them in to lakes. They have virtually exterminated their smaller European cousins and cause massive damage to both the banks where they burrow and also to fish stocks where they hoover up spawn at breeding time. EA regulations are that these must be destroyed and removed if caught as a damaging invasive species.
I mentioned the Signal Crayfish before seeing your comment! As a fellow angler I know of the damage they can do, especially in undermining banks etc. Have you ever seen one? I saw one once when washing my hands after handling a fish.......ruddy huge great things, like small lobsters! I've also seen a Mink (same spot actually) a couple of times, thus is the Trent in Notts.
@@supernoodles91 Done more than see them, have caught a fair few - If you have worms, maggots or luncheon meat out they will grab it. Had 3 at the Royal Berkshire fishery a couple of weeks back, the third was a huge male in full red breeding colours, nightmare to get off the hook without getting nipped, seriously aggressive.
@@cliffdixon6422 Really?? Ruddy 'ell!😂 I remember the one I saw, it was in about 6" of water, it could obviously see me, as it had it's claws up in a 'defensive' pose, like it was challenging me to a fight!😂 A quick kick of the tail and it was gone!
I really enjoyed reading your comment interesting and informative, thank you.
Otters are bigger problem than mink
I grew up in South London and am pretty familiar with parakeets and terrapins (A lot of leg injuries on waterbirds from them at The Isabella Plantation, where we went for days out.) But about ten years ago, one of those hornets was in my living room, just sitting motionless above a window. We knew what it was and shooed it out. I had no idea I was supposed to report it or so few had been seen. I'd have caught it had I known that. I'm sure my mother will have a photo somewhere, it was an ugly so-and-so.
If you kill one,does it release a ferromone for its colleagues to show up?
Fascinating Liam. Many of these newcomers have and will do huge damage to native animals/birds. Meanwhile our successive governments sit back and allow it to happen until it is too late to retrieve the situation. Best wishes from Belfast Castlereagh hills.
Technically most farmed species are non-native. And I'd like Rhododendron ponticum and Buddleia davidii added to the list.
I was about to say "I'm surprised not to see the signal crayfish in there" but it's in the thumbnail for the next video. Nailed it. I didn't know the last entry either. I'm going to get stuck into some more of your content right away.
Rabbit, Brown Hare, Little Owl, Pheasant, Red Legged Partridge, Rats, House Mice, Many freshwater fish species, Canada Geese, Countless Plant species, Roman/Edible Snails, etc etc.. there are so many introduced species now.
Canadian Geese were not really introduced, they just found migration patterns easier than flying south to America.
I play golf in the midlands and see many of the wildlife mentioned in your video.
I've also witnessed Chipmunks running around within 10feet. The internet suggests that there are more than 1000 of them in the UK.
Golf courses are what used to be open country, not great for wildlife and they drain the water supply.
Probably a squirrel
@@stewartlancaster6155 Nah. That's Coca-Cola
Thanks Liam, your videos are always super educational! I read that rabbits aren't native to the UK and were introduced by either the Romans or Normans.
Here in New Zealand, introduced stoats have had a major impact on native biodiversity, so when I saw the related mink on this list I was immediately like "oh no.."
It's interesting how opinions change based on native or non native. Here, if we see a stoat or weasel we are usually happy to have done so lol.
@@AShotOfWildlife iv seen 1 in my garden no where near any water about a year ago
@@dynevor6327 same In the uk there seen as uncommon I'm in my 30s and have seen 1 about 2years ago
@@AShotOfWildlife The domestic cat should be on here. Once people let them roam around freely in the wild, they become invasive.
All the introduced browsers & grazers are also seriously damaging. And are vigorously advocated for maintaining excessive populations everywhere by many hunting interests, who often oppose any effective control of numbers. They have repeatedly shown they are not able or prepared to provide much useful control, & have liberated new populations of some species.
Vulnerable natives need habitat as well as protection from predators.
I've seen terrapins in the Thames a few months ago in the docks at Canada water and Surry quays the parakeets are all over London now they have actually become like a tourist attraction in Hyde park and will land in your hands for food
I put my terrapins in pond at my local woods when they got too big when I was a kid. Whoops
Sure they weren't jelly fish
@@jaydaves4568 no definitely terrapins not jelly fish lol
I saw a mandarin duck in the river Douglas that runs through Wigan. It was absolutely stunning.
That was most enjoyable to watch thank you. I had no idea that racoon and midwife toad had been recorded in Britain. So as they say, 'You learn something new every day!'!
Thanks! Midwife toad are actually fairly common, I have helped to discover 2 populations so far and expect to find more in the future. As they are so small and they dont seem to move around very much, they are usually confined to a rather small area. For example, a population I helped discover in Cambridge is almost completely restricted to the back gardens of 2 rows of terraced houses and has been there for about 15 years!
@@AShotOfWildlife Thank you, very interesting, all news to me and a big thumbs up to your discoveries!
Amazing! I bought a midwife toad in my youth from a supplier but had no idea they lived wild in Britain until later on.
I see parakeets and parrots all over london, they're all over some areas. It's crazy how a tropical bird is doing so well here
I think the biggest home for them is in Kingston on Hogsmill Lane opposite the Royal Mail depot. I was working there in Christmas 2020 and theres a green space opposite, thousands would gather on the trees during day break and they would all start screaming and chirping. I should have recorded it.
The carp were kept by monks as as at certain times [especially Lent], they abstained from meat, but not from fish, so many monasteries had a carp pond to provide fish for the community, especially for communities which were along way from the sea or major river.
The red-eared turtles (“sliders” is what the locals call them) vary in coloration across their range. It looks like the ones that got introduced all over the world in the pet trade came from Texas…
I saw a wild terrapin sat on a log while I was walking my dog around a lake near Leeds quite recently. I just sat and watched it in utter disbelief.
They eat ducklings - don't like them at all
Newmillerdam in Wakefield is literally full of them
A note about the Asian Hornets, this species is not the same as the "murder hornet" invading the US - that's the Asian Giant Hornet. The ones invading the UK are Yellow-Legged hornets, which still have a pretty nasty sting, but are much less agressive or dangerous than the Giant Hornet.
Not just terrapins but also snapping turtles were part of the TMNT craze in the 90s. There was one at a local pond. As a kid I remember seeing it catching and downing ducks. Luckily that one was eventually caught and removed from the pond. As for raccoons, it's thankfully now illegal to breed and sell them as pets in the UK. Same with raccoon dogs, which look similar but are actually related to foxes. Like the raccoon, they've become a serious invasive pest in Europe and a few have turned up wild in the UK.
There have been a number of wallabies living wild in Scotland for decades now. They're very unlikely to spread though as they all live on an island in the middle of Loch Lomond.
Some in Derbyshire too, at least there used to be :)
Wallabies can swim
Nessie would eat them
Sightings in Devon, Dorset and Cornwall going back quite a few years too
@@bandolero5068 apparently the ones in Derbyshire were killed off during a particularly cold winter.
Raccoons …..WOW 🤗 I’m stunned 😳 ! Some of these creatures are so often seen, as with the numbers of squirrels, but for the most part many of us have only ever glimpsed these other little fellas in few places, as yet……..🐟 🐢…..🐝 …..🦌 …… ? Thank you for such an interesting documentary ❤️👌🏼
I Remember when I Backpacked around Australia in the 90'same. The Cane Toad in QueensLand. There are Many Billions Now BUT They Only Imported/Released 104 Toads in Total 😨
An Australian chap told me that a mate of his went around deliberately squashing them in his car and the police gave him a ticket.
My friend saw a huge black cat in the fields at 5.30 am recently, far too large to be a domestic cat. Do you think there are wild large cats out there?
Definitely!. I have seen Black Leopards twice. Different areas, and 23 years apart.
@@edwardtreadwell3859 😎👍🏻
Did you see the dna evidence recently found proving it?
Great video! Another non native deer is called Pere David's deer, they exist in small herds but there used to be more. The good aspect of this is that when they were hunted to extinction in China they were reintroduced.
I didn’t know the squirrel had passed on an illness at 50 I’ve never seen a wild red squirrel but I have seen a yellow bellied slider. I really liked your video great job.
That paraquete is AMAZING! 😍
I know of one place locally where there are at least 3 large terrapins that have been living there for a long while. Every now and then, I'll hear that someone has seen a duck being taken by one of them although I've never seen that myself.
That's interesting. I doubt a terrapin would be able to tackle a fully grown duck, but a duckling would definitely be possible.
@@AShotOfWildlife Thinking about it, I have a feeling that it WAS ducklings that I've heard about being taken, not fully grown ducks.
There was a BBC documentary a while ago on the wildlife of London which showed a terrapin catching a duckling, so definitely happens.
I live near a Victorian Fort which is surrounded by a moat.
I have seen on several occasions Terrapins sunbathing on the reeds in the middle of the moat.
There are quite a number of invertebrates here such as false widow spiders and in the south west a non native small spider with iridescent green fangs.
What about Wallabies? Last summer (2021) I saw three road kills in north Devon on two consecutive days. I’ve read that there are a number of breeding groups in the Peak District and in the south west, but I’d never seen one before and have yet to sight a live one.
Yes, stay tuned as I am currently putting together a part 2 of this video including wallabies and lots of others :)
In my part of the USA (Louisiana), our biggest pests are European house sparrows, European starlings, red ear turtles, and nutria. Florida is much worse, with many more reptiles that threaten native species. Thanks for the video, I enjoyed it!
Don't forget feral pigs.
@@ANPC-pi9vu True! They're a scourge in certain areas of the South. There's very few within 100 miles of me, I think hunters keep them under control.
Unwelcome immigrants causing problems with the locals, eh?
Shoot them, like you shoot everything else
Greetings from the United States.
Some advice here regarding some of your entries: first off, the raccoon can be shooed off with a broom. Just remember to stick to the broom. They are mostly nocturnal and actually they will attempt, in some cases, to try and live in the eaves of the house (and more rarely the attic.). They can and they will get bitey, so petting them is a no no. Too many people have seen Guardians of the Galaxy and don't realize they only look cute and will defend themselves violently if they think they're in danger. They also can carry rabies, but the possibility is very remote in the UK. And they will raid your garbage at any chance they can get. Mind those trash bins!!
Gray squirrel - why upper crust idiots keep whoomping around on horseback after foxes, I don't know. You can shoot these AND help Squirrel Nutkin at the same time. They are edible and the Cherokees have been eating them for centuries.
Carp-they will eat almost anything. By this, I mean bait. The Mississippi River currently has a big problem with their cousins, the bighead carp. Imagine a carp that weighs several pounds and gets easily scared by an outboard motor. Yep, yep, that's what happens. Imagine just passing through and suddenly out of nowhere a carp that weighs several pounds smacks you in the head like a rugby ball and it hits hard enough to leave a mark.
The local solution has been to fillet these fish and then hash up the meat and deep fat fry with spices. Ahh, Memphis style fish balls: Piquant tasting breaded and fried fish bowls that was a little hot sauce make you want to slap ya mama and the recipe works on grass carp too.
And last, but not on the list, are those signal crayfish: better to ask for forgiveness than for permission. Learn how to make crayfish etoufee, get big ass pots, and eat like kings. If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em!!
There are also some really weird ones (albeit in very small numbers), like Coatis and Wallabies that have been spotted in the wild of the UK recently.
Where I live has TONS of the Parakeets. They regularly roost somewhere, then fly over my home to a local park, where they spend most of the day socialising, only to return to their roosting site in the late afternoon. Their numbers have exploded over the course of the pandemic here; not sure why, could be their competition decreasing in number that relied on people, or just the overall quiet led more of them to explore the area.
Coatimundi? I am shocked. Keep in mind the US has those in extreme southern Arizona and they must be freezing their nuts off in the UK. (I mean no disrespect, man, but they come from a warm climate. Scotland must look like the tenth circle of hell to a coati.)
On the Isle of man we have a huge colony of wallaby. The Government did a survey in a small area in the north of the island an counted 560. But we have seen them in the middle and south of the island,so there are probably about 1000. They don't do any harm and just eat grass. They started in the 70s as escapees from a small zoo.
@@chriscorlett3083 There used to be Wallabies on The Roaches between Buxton and Leek.
The Carp were brought to the USA by European citizens who missed them in America. I'm very sorry to see the raccoons and mink are establishing a population in the UK. We had a few thousand mink escape a fur farm this spring in Pennsylvania. Although they're native here, those were too many for the area to support. I have a Indian Ring Neck for a pet. She's a great bird! I wouldn't have known they would survive loose. Your climate isn't much different than ours. Amazing how many animals have been introduced all over the world! You do have very interesting videos! Safe travels and God bless
Thank you very much. Interestingly carp are quite a sought after fish here when it comes to catch and release fishing, but in the USA they are usually much larger but not targeted by many anglers. Thanks for your comments and for enjoying these videos.
The Norfolk Broads where the coypu were the biggest problem is a massive area which is hard to keep proper track of. Thus it's possible that there are some coypu in this area.
Yeah, that's my local patch. I do think if they were still about though, there would have been photos by now. Especially given.how busy the broads are these days. But I'll never say never.
Great share Liam
Some surprises for me there especially the Racoon!! Hope there’s not too many of them about.
Our woodlands around here are so very quiet - even at this time of year. Muntjac are so numerous - you’re guaranteed to see at least one when you’re out. Such a shame
And the Parakeets have now reached mid Bedfordshire but we haven’t seen them here as yet. Just a matter of time 😨😨
Really interesting again mate👍👍👍
Thanks! The Raccoon sightings thus far have all been towards the west of the country so none in east anglia at the moment. Ring necked parakeets are here in Norwich and even further east (they are within 100metres of the most easterly point in mainland england at lowestoft). Which part of bedfordshire are you? I spent the first 8 years of my life in Sandy and visited the rspb reserve there a few times whilst at Uni.
@@AShotOfWildlife There's a massive amount of them in Sefton Park, Liverpool.
Why don't the locals hunt the Munjac? Good eating 😋.
@@AShotOfWildlife hiya Liam. Apologies mate. Just seen your comment
We’re in North West Bedfordshire so we’re about 15 miles from Sandy. Used to go there a lot as a kid, but only been a couple of times lately. 👍👍
@@neilferguson7176 don’t no about Englandshire? Not allowed to hunt in Scotland without a license and no one will give u one to kill Muntjac which in all honesty are harmless little fuckers and not doing any harm
With little doubt the most damaging non native animal to our wildlife is the feral/domestic cat. Not just here in the UK but all over the world.
Every time I see a cat in the fields or woods I shoot them , people have no idea what damage they cause
The uk has a native wild cat. The scottish wild cat
People's cats are so damaging to wildlife. Estimated 275 million small animals and birds tortured and killed every year in the U.K. They also carry the most PROLIFIC parasite known to mankind (Toxoplasma Gondii) Linked with mental illnesses, anxiety, road-rage, risk-taking and all sorts of other lovely things. Could be a parasite in your brain, on account of skanky cats. Gotta love dogs and fireworks as well for the wildlife!!!!
@@johnstockburn6396 that’s cruel
@@kieranreynolds5896 and with people like you and your attitude you that is contributing to the loss of the countryside
Ring-necked parakeets, three years ago, tried to occupy the 125 year old plane trees which line a road across the end of my road in north London. The crows and magpies which had already claimed them took exception but it took them all summer to see the invaders off. I watched them through my binoculars from my balcony. Fascinating birds but really noisy. They're now visitors who turn up in the afternoon for an hour, do whatever it is they need to do and then go back to their new headquarters down the road in some of the trees along the disused railway line down the road.
Very interesting. They are a "pending" species here in norwich at the moment. They have encircled the city in small numbers but haven't made it to the city centre yet. We do have a lot of gulls here though so I suspect they may be keeping them at bay.
Excellent video. Several species I'd no idea were here. Racoons for instance!
Must admit as long as they're not a problem I'd be happy to see Mandarin Ducks. 😊
Toddle down to Maidenhead on the Thames and hire a boat there. Head downstream towards Windsor and you might well get lucky. There's a small colony, and you CANNOT miss the males if you see one!
@@mikethecabbie8476 bit too far for me but I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed them. They are stunning birds.
I saw a racoon casually strolling down the promenade eating the Post club kick out food waste. Behaved just like an urban fox only way more agile.
Had no idea about raccoons. I miss seeing our native red squirrels, pushed out by the larger greys
Technically Britain has three native Deer, Red Deer (Cervus elaphus), Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus), and Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), Reindeer are a British (Scotland) native, like the Beaver, they are Re-introduced, not introduced. Reindeer was running around Scotland before the original stock was wiped out about 800 years ago.
You missed one, Muntjac.
@@samuelbarrett9403 The Muntjac Deer species, that was introduced into the UK, is the Reeves's muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi), they are native to South-East China, so not UK natives, not even European natives.
The Chinese water deer population in East Anglia, although alien, is now vitally important. They are thriving here but are critically endangered in China.
They are remarkable animals.
What we consider important has a backseat to our mindless reproducing, eating and "modernisation", all we are doing is prolonging the inevitable desolation of every species larger than a rat by our own ignorant, flailing, boldly defecating way that our species loves to pretend they are doing the world a favour by killing everything and not even knowing it
It is a shame that even some of the wildlife rescue centers seem to ignore the law in regards to dealing with none native species in that it is an offence to release any none native species back into the wild the law states that they cannot be kept but humanly euthanized there is a well known centre (not named for legal reasons) who regularly rerelease none native species and have even done it on camera, sadly the animal rights protestors did more harm than good
Not that I agreevwith it but legally you are allowed to keep them captive, you just mustn't allow them to breed or escape. I am all too familiar with local rescues who do the same. Its an understandably complex situation though as in my mind, releasing a rehashed grey squirrel in a place where there are already loads of them doesn't pose much in tge way of risk to natives. Rereleasing one somewhere on the periphery of their range on the other hand, could have a real impact.
@@AShotOfWildlife I worked for the Herts & Middlesex wildlife trust over forty three years ago we had to destroy grey squirrel drays if found in any of the nature reserves we hated it when we found that some nearby rescue centers were releasing them back into the reserves even though told not too, the idea of returning some species is a grey area the European bison is capable of doing a lot of damage of they get out of the enclosure the North American Bison is docile compared too the European.
Like any wild animal if they feel threatened will attack the other reintroduced species the wild boar has been known to attack humans who accidentally stumble upon them whilst walking dogs, if you see some of the UA-cam videos of American Bison attacking car's they show that even the heavy SUV'S are easy to lift up like a child's toy and their horns can easily puncture a car door.
I have been up close to the American Bison in the Highlands wildlife park (Scotland) even in a large 4x4 one bull made it look like a smart car, you are warned that if they start crossing the road you stop apparently not long after our visit they stopped letting car's through as one of the old bulls took to attacking one or two vehicles.
@@AShotOfWildlife very much agree with you although from my personal perspective if squirrel pox was somehow removed as a factor whether through some sort of vaccine combined with a cull of greys then reds could coexist in ranges they used to dwell in.. Perhaps lower in number due to the competition between the 2 species but at least not dying out in those areas
They should at least neuter them.
Coypu aka Nutria. We need to do more to control mink and the pesky grey squirrel that were introduce by the Duke of Bedford at Woburn Abbey in Hertfordshire. My grandfather didn't help as he shot a Red Squirrel in Lincolnshire about 100 years ago & had it stuffed.
I didn't know that Raccoons had been release here 😮 I knew a lot had been kept as pets in Germany and either been released or escaped.
I've always wondered if it was a coypu I saw at a fishing venue in Lincolnshire several years ago.
A mate and I were walking around the lake after a match. No one around. I briefly spotted a large almost orange rodent. Plenty of rats at this place but this was the size of a cat.
The guy who fished that particular peg said there was a massive rat in the adjacent reedbed.
I was always convinced it was a coypu. I didn't realise they were supposedly eradicated.
I saw a raccoon in the wild one night when I was driving home. I was approaching a curve in the road, when my headlights caught it’s distinctive face in front of me.
Nobody believed me. I also saw a wallaby on more than one occasion.
there was a petshop near me in rochdale that was selling racoons as pets not so long ago, it's since shut down after appearing on channel 5's "can't pay, we'll take it away" the guy paid his debt on the show but at the cost of his business sadly, store has been shut ever since
I had a Asian Hornet fly into my house back in 2007. I killed it by stepping on it but it had a really hard skeleton, it didnt get squashed straight away and I split it in half with the side of my shoe and it made a crunchy noise. Also there are some much more interestesting non native species in the UK. Wallabies yes the small Kangaroo things are able to survive the climate and have been here since the 1900s. Wild bore also escaped enclosures and set up wild populations in several parts of the UK in recent years and I believe they have recently just reintroduced the Bison to the UK.
Raccoons are well established in Germany where they're called "washbears".
In the u.s. we call them trash pandas
Yes, lovely video, when you can't get out yourself it's the next best thing! I like the relaxed style of the videos which include more than just the highlights, and the music suits them well. Where's it from, incidentally? Thanks again!
SE London and Kent has been flooded with parakeets for the last 10-20 years, I would say.
Of course, it may be due to how recognisable they are, but it seems that only pigeons are more common these days.
At first, the exotic green visitors were fun and exciting. Now they're a total nuisance. The horrific screeching of their arrival at dawn, dusk or whenever they come is jarring and it spoils the more appealing songbird tunes. They aggressively drive other birds from seed feeders and I've seen them draw blood when biting down on the legs of pigeon competitors. They also evict our native woodpeckers from their hollowed-out nests in trees. Culling in order?
The parakeets are in Sunderland now
They are a concern to those that have pet parrots too. I have green parrots and see so many times in lost bird groups that someone has seen a green parrot but they have 10 people telling them it will be a wild one (even if it clearly isn't a ringneck or is on its own and seeking out humans).
Here in my part of Scotland the hunting of grey squirrels is actively encouraged and places advertise contacting organisations if one is spotted. The gamekeepers take care of Mink in our area and our wildlife is thriving but the next problem has just arrived, the Magpie.
Someone thought it would be a good idea to release Beaver(past native) into the UK's fastest flowing river, now because of the damage they are doing to riverside trees a plan is being propased to move them 1000ft up a mountain into places where they could do some good.
I doubt there is much meat on one. They wouldn't make much of a meal
Fascinating round up of some interesting aliens! Looking forward to the next instalment! Keep up the good work buddy! 👍🙂👍
Thank you Sir Graham. Next up is a fact-file about coots and then a video about animals that went extinct in the UK but are now back :)
AND vice versa: we can also think of the non-native species that the British and other emigrants brought out to Australia and New Zealand. For instance the farmers wanted to bring cattle, pigs and sheep. And for nostalgic reasons people also brought the blackbird which thrives in the whole of eastern Australia and New Zealand. Western Australia, where blackbirds are considered a pest, has avoided an invasion of blackbirds so far.
Yes, I'm going to do a video on British animals that have been introduced elsewhere soon.
I think you mean the European starling, which is much worse and more numerous than blackbirds.
The worst thing that the British (or may have been the Irish) did to Australia was bringing the Cane Toad over
@@julzcarpenter5431 The worst species to begin with was homo sapiens, then the dingo, then foxes, cane toads, rabbits ...
Rats,cats and weasels stowed on ships.
I'd be interested to know which native species are affected by the ringnecked parakeet
I believe they nest in holes in trees that would normally be used by our native birds.
As well as Carp, Zander have also been introduced to British rivers and canals.
Yes. I would love to include them in an upcoming version of this video but I don't have any footage (and there isn't any available) at the moment. I am going to try to film them this summer though.
Yep and signal cray fish, mitten crab, top mouth Gudgeon aswell as catfish.
@@The22adamms And Zebra mussels.
Just discovered you're channel man keep up the great work 💙
Welcome! I hope you continue enjoying the videos and any questions or suggestions, feel free to get in touch :)
Midwife Toads can be heard around the small pond in Pannet park in Whitby
Cool. Do you think there are many there?
@@AShotOfWildlife hard to tell exact numbers, but if I was to hazard a guess, it sounded as though there were at least five individuals calling
No mention of the various scorpions and spiders that have been living around Dover,Newhaven, Southampton and Felixstowe for about 40 years, easy to spot at night with black light torch 🔦 👌
Check out part 2 of this video. It should have came up as the suggested video at the end but if you look on the channel, it's the most recent video :)
No mention of the vermin who have made a nest on the government side of the HoC
Yeah, I saw little scorpions at Ongar Station, Essex one evening over 20 years ago. They glow in torchlight too.
Absolute brilliant channel, don't know why it popped up but glad it did.
Just subscribed
Thank you so much and a belated welcome to the channel! I hope you have found lots of videos that you enjoy here.
@@AShotOfWildlife I love them all Simon especially as it's our wildlife
Thank you Liam I’m certain that I saw a coypu when with my uncle many years ago we were in the area I’m now 73 yrs old I sometimes think I dreamt it but still think I saw them that’s what I was told they were by my father and uncle
Yes, that is quite likely. Coypu were apparently fully "eradicated" from the UK in 1989 but there have been occasional sightings of them since- unconfirmed for the most part.
Thanks Liam! Well researched and informative as ever.. I suppose you could say that the introduction of non native species is a tale of unintended consequences.. Nice one! 🌟👍
Great video !
Can you do another video like this but only on birds please.
Thanks!
In the future I plan on doing a video about species that have naturally colonised the UK in the last 50-100 years. Most of these will be birds so hopefully that'll appeal to you :)
As a Canadian, here are some tips about our native raccoons:
- super intelligent; females pass on their knowledge to their offspring
- very dexterous; comparable to a 7 year old human child
- curious; if it's a challenge or a puzzle, it will not give up until it's solved
- full of parasites; don't bother to eat them, instead kill them for their fur
- useful; if you can't get rid of them, choose one near your home to feed your food waste, thereby acting as an organic refuse bin
Interesting. Hopefully we wont have a real problem with them and people will stop releasing their pets. Although those crossing from france in the back of lorries (real story) could become an issue and would be quite difficult to prevent.
@@AShotOfWildlife If nothing is done to curb the raccoon population, it will just boom and cause trouble. Here in Canada, there are plenty of predators to control the raccoon population, such as, coyotes, wolves, wolverines, bears (black, brown, grizzly, polar), hawks, owls, eagles, etc. So it's a non-issue in Canada except for in Toronto where it's reported to have approximately 200 per square km. Which is why Toronto is nicknamed Raccoon City. Also, they are nocturnal, and if you see any roaming during the day, it is rabid and must be avoided or put down.
@@AShotOfWildlife Also other species have come from France and have killed adult natives via stabbings etc.
@@OM617a Killing them for their fur is a great way to decimate the unwanted population of an invasive species. Like I said earlier, eating them is not an option. Therefore, to be environmentally friendly at least use its fur so that the entire carcass does not go to waste. Raccoon fur is great for gloves, hats, boots, bags, accessories... you can get quite creative!
Fascinating. Thank you. Very well presented and researched.
Thanks. Stay tuned for a second video of 10 more non-natives which will be released in the next couple of days.
@@AShotOfWildlife Great. Well done.
Enjoyed this, thanks! What are your thoughts on big cats in the UK?
Weren't some people keen on reintroducing lynx?
@@rjjcms1 We already have Lynx. In bigger numbers we have Black Leopards, Puma/Mountain Lion, Jungle Cats, Caracal and Ocelot. They are very secretive and masters of hiding away from humans most of the time. Fortunately they pose little threat.
I had no idea about the racoons!
I do want to go on a road trip sometime and try and find the wallabies in Kent.
Yeah, quite a surprising one but they are genuinely expected to become a proper established species at some point. They have been known to smuggle into the country in the back of lorries.
I am hoping to see the scorpions in kent next week, if my UV torch arrives in time.
That sounds like fun!
There is a colony of wallabies on an island in Loch Lomond.
That sounds like a great trip! I'll add it to the places I want to visit.
I actually love the Ring necks. I live on the outskirts of London in Surrey. When we 1st moved here at 5.30am every day they would settle on a large building at the bottom of our garden and turn it green there were so many.
Now because the council are killing them off i only see the occasional one, which is sad.
Grew up in Dorset and a few times ive seen Wallabies in the middle if the road, after being hit by cars.
Hi Liam, when I was a kid I seen a tarantula my aunties garden In the north of England in the mid to late 80s, it was on an apple or pear tree, I was so surprised, when I ran to get someone I could not see it! No wind up! Also you could have mentioned the Large Puma black cats that people see! But then maybe your in the cryptozoology area too much! 😂 I sub’d
That sounds like a crazy story but it isn't implausible that one had escaped from somewhere nearby or been released I guess. I had a similar thing with an alpine newt when I was younger (much less exciting!)
Im currently editing part 2 of this video but still no big cats. I may do one in the future but its perhaps a bit too sensationalist for my liking. We will see!
Cheers!
@@Steves_fish
There's the incident when BBC sports presenter Claire Balding was on the radio in a forest in England and saw a large black animal crossing the path. Black Panthers were kept as pets until it became illegal in the 1970s and instead of being euthanized were released. And they're still around.
Ps
I live in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, and collected this story from friends.
It happened years back. They live on a main road and their daughter lives in a property that is behind theirs so the gardens abut one another.
They saw a long black curling expressive tail hanging out of a tree in the daughters garden, and the animal attached to that tail was a black panther. When you hear people talking about these animals they talk about the tail. This is a wealthy town and I suspect what was seen was an illegal pet that got out.
I live in West Yorkshire there are loads of parakeets in my garden, I've seen terrapins in the river, and an otter chasing a mink once, it was definitely going to kill it. Last year l also saw a hummingbird moth. That was off the charts.
@@Steves_fish l live by a river, its all a bit rustic. I came home one day in the afternoon, and police had blocked off every route around my house. I asked them why, they wouldn't say anything except " it's wierd!". They were all stood on a foot bridge just looking about. I have had my suspicion that there is a panther about, screaming birds in the night and stuff. Then when l Googled it, someone saw one about 3 minutes walk from my house. I then saw big paw prints in the sand. Told folk at work and they all think I'm mad and take the piss. 😆. They didn't believe me about the parakeets and love birds either, till l showed them the photos. UK.
@@Steves_fish well put it this way, l went looking for paw prints, and l never expected to actually find them. Who knows, might be my imagination, but 2 sightings in the same spot very close by. Will just keep my eyes peeled, even in Africa no one ever sees them. Would be great to spot one. I can dream.
I’ve never come across your content before but I really enjoyed this video! I’ve subbed and will probably binge watch for the rest of tonight😂🎉
This is a really great educational video. We could do without the silly loud music tho :)
Liked, thank you. did you spot a kingfisher recently?
Funnily enough yes, I saw 2 yesterday whilst out surveying for a non-native species of plant.
The activists that released the mink should be jailed and heavily fined!
And they wonder why people hate them lol
Oh please. Anyone who kills animals for fur should be jailed. Anyone who stans for fur farming should be fined.
They had good intentions.
You smell a bit fash
The pathway to hell is paved with good intentions
Another great video. I live in Dorset and a few years ago on the way to work! I hit a mink that ran across the road in front of me, it had a small rabbit in it mouth. I checked the rear view mirror but it was gone…
Ironically I saw the different species of deer and did some research. I'm mindful of booking a hunt in the UK not too far in the distant future.
I dont expect it will be very difficult. There are a lot of deer in most places, itll be like fish in a barrel I would guess.
@@AShotOfWildlife "fish in a barrel"? 🤦♂️
@markhammond9453 Yes, it is a turn of phrase. 🙉
I value people who love birds and animals and they are very special people.
Have you ever done one on invasive plants? They too have a profound impact on our wildlife and native species.
You’re new here arnt you?
Maybe try re-reading the channel name!
@JulieWallis1963 oooh sarcasm, big person alert
I have a midwife toad in my garden pond. It drives me round the bend as that beeping starts at around 5pm and carries on all night!!!
I'm surprised to learn Muntjac deer are not native. They are everywhere here in Norfolk. I've run over two in the last 5 years.
Yeah, norfolk and the rest of east anglia are a bit of a hotspot for them but they are introduced.
Wouldn't it be easy to just let hunters have an unlimited harvest of the invasive deer? That should wipe them out.
Ring necked parakeets are actually beneficial in some ways. They compete with Magpies and reduce the predation of song bird nests, of which Magpies are the main culprits.
Hmmmm not sure that’s a good thing, magpies are indigenous and if they prey on songbirds then so be it, that’s life🤷♂️🤷♂️ only caveat is if magpies have flourished due to a predator being artificially reduced in numbers.
@@Jabber-ig3iw The predator being artificially reduced in numbers is humans. At one time, magpies were widely shot to prevent song bird predation. Now, this would be likely to result in court action.
The RSPB claims that magpies have no effect on song bird numbers. All I can say is that in the last 10 years I have had no successful nests in my garden. All have been predated by the hordes of magpies in the area.
Ring Neck Parakeets occupy potential nest holes of native U.K. birds.
Well, since you've already got raccoons, now you need beavers, muskrats, coyotes, cougars, black bears, grizzly bears, brown bears, wolves and lots more snakes!
We've got beavers already. I dont think any of the others are coming any times soon though... Maybe Lynx!
Britain should never ever see the return of wolves, Bears or any big cat ( apart from the wildcats) There's not enough land left for those creatures to roam in without coming into contact with people which could prove to be fatal for either!
@deanbarnett8538 Rewilding britain would help. The only reason things are the way they are is because afew people decided to turn the entire country into cow pastures. Aside from the fact that there are just far too many people and we should just breed mindlessly until there is no room for anything else. Either way, we killed and replaced entire ecosystems to be here, the uk was a rainforest before humans actually arrived. It is arrogant to say that they shouldnt be here and we should.
@@DG-iw3yw Just remember that when Animals come into conflict with humans, there's only one winner. Don't worry about it. It's a process called natural selection and you are one of the winners!
@@DG-iw3yw Well said my Friend.. 👍
Around 20 years ago me and my friend had stopped on a bench to partake in the devils lettuce. By the time We finished up and hopped onto my moped it had turned dark. I put my key in the ignition and the lights came on to reveal a huge black cat stalking towards us only meters away. The sound of the engine startled it and it ran off in one direction while we quickly rode off in the other. I’ve always wondered if we would have been attacked if we stayed there for just a minute longer than we did before hopping on my moped.
Only a tithe of the non-native aliens in Britain I have to say. For instance there are any number of non native fish species that have been introduced including zander, wels catfish, orfe (or ide if you prefer), bitterling, rainbow trout, grass carp, goldfish, non native sturgeon species, pumpkinseed, channel catfish and others.
Yes indeed. I would like to do more videos like this but there is very limited footage available of most of them fish and filming them myself is not feasible at the moment.
Absolutely brilliant video, loved it. Thank you. I do really like your longer video. The wife and I like to watch them in the evening with a cuppa tea and a biscuit.
Hi Bryan, thank you very much. Some people like the longer videos and others prefer the shorter ones, so I do a bit of both to keep people happy and I quite like making the different styles also. I dont know if you have seen my latest video, its a bit longer and may be in the style you enjoy the most.
Next up is a kingfisher fact file and after that will be a longer video with lots of interesting wildlife from near Scotland.
Have a great day!
@@AShotOfWildlife Hi Liam, have you done a video on UK bats?
How about anyone who has come from another country, surely they are non indigenous?
Good video, you missed Coati's and Wallabies though :)
Cheers. There is going to be another or perhaps even another 2 of these videos which will feature those species :)
Fantastic video Liam!
Thank you :)
Thanx for an amazing video 🙏 I just spent around 20 minutes trying to figure out what the hell is 'koipew'... didn't cross my mind to check the video discription. We call this animal nutrija here in Croatia. I didn't know this is it's other name.
They should legalise hunting for fur on none native animals. They'll soon disappear.
Worked wonders on rabbits……..
Those green parakeets have spread over the whole country by the look of it. I heard they're in Newcastle and Leeds.
I see those parakeets regularly in Sunderland
Terrapins were also a fad at the beginning of the 80's all of my cousins and close friends kept them.
Saw large flock of green Parakeets in South Kensington was extraordinary they seemed to be fine adapting.
You forgot rabbits! They were introduced apparently by the Roman's! Also rats as they stowed aboard ships!
Yeah, there's loads more as well. I'm going to do a second and perhaps even a third of these videos which will include them :)
Koi are colored varieties of the Amur carp - Cyprinus rubrofuscus.
The Eurasian or European carp (Cyprinus carpio), formerly known as the common carp, has leather, mirror, king and wild varieties, and although they are closely enough related to Amur carp to interbreed, they are different species.
Hybridisation of crucian carp (Carassius carassius) with Eurasian carp is very uncommon in the wild, but such fish are often produced in hatcheries for stocking purposes.
Hybridisation of crucian carp (Carassius carassius) with released goldfish (Carassius auratus) in the wild is however a major problem.
Oh, and the hornet that you initially showed appears to be a native, European hornet. The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) has yellow legs - which can be seen clearly in the latter shots.
Hello. Thanks for the info about Koi, It's something I was told years ago and just thought it to be true, I didn't realise they were a different species to the others. Every day is a school day.
With regards to the hybridisation, I know its listed as one of their leading impacts. I haven't researched how often it happens in the wild but it'll make for some interesting research later.
I'll have to look back through the video with regards to the hornet, it isn't my footage and was definitely listed as Asian hornet.
Anyway, thanks for your feedback and have a good day.
@@AShotOfWildlife It's nice to see carp recognised as non-native.
Fish for stocking in commercial angling lakes are typically hybrids between Eurasian carp and crucian carp (known as F1s) or hybrids between Eurasian carp and koi carp, (known as ghost carp) but pure king carp strains also remain popular.
Interestingly, barbel are only native to east flowing rivers in the UK, and their introduction into the Severn and Wye systems was an act of ecological vandalism on a par with the widespread stocking of carp in stillwaters.
@@baldieman64 I am going to do a second video on this format and will include goldfish and perhaps another non native fish.
I have checked the hornet and I believe it is a giant hornet but of the Japanese colour variation. It was filmed in Japan and is listed as giant hornet.
@@baldieman64 it's interesting regarding barbel. I knew they were stocked but didn't realise in rivers that this went beyond their natural range.
@@AShotOfWildlife Fair enough. The hornet we have as an invasive species here is a little smaller than our native ones, and leg colour is the easy way to spot the difference.
Native ones are surprisingly chilled unless you're a bumble bee. I've watched them slaghter bumble bees by the dozen but despite sitting just a couple of meters from the nest, they had no interest in me.
When the British Isles were separated from the main European mainland by rising seas at the end of the last ice age, Barbel were present in the rivers such as the Thames and Ouse, that once flowed into the Rhine, but never made it naturally to the western watersheds. They were introduced to the Severn by a group that included the Angling Times in the 1950s.
Obvious invasive fish to look at would be zander, wels catfish, orfe/ide and rainbow trout, but more interesting ones might be the limited populations of bitterling and pumpkinseed that are apparently still present.
Yep, I saw a flock of approx 30 green Parakeets in Margate about 30 years ago!
Nice calm, informative and interesting.
I've seen the parakeets in my local park.
They're nice.
Far less harmful to other bird populations than magpies, I'm sure.
Remember when seeing a Magpie was a rare treat?
"One for sorrow..." etc?
Now they are everywhere. Every other bird seems to be a magpie (London) and they eat smaller birds.
Good point about magpie predation - and they've wiped songbirds out where magpies are too numerous. The parakeets are aggressive to other birds though, and prevent them feeding at garden feeders.
There's lots of invasive species in London, the two legged variety 😀 spreading rapidly and having a tremendous affect on the native species lol.
Middle class ppl?
Immigrants?
Yeah the tory infestation has been seriously damaging for this country
@@xMrjamjam 400 years...
@festo8885 if you knew the history of this place, then you woild know that every single human in the uk, their ancestors immigrated here. Get over it. Even the celts, get this, were not native, so get off of your high horse. Go to the hospital and tell me how many white british doctors are actually there, not that many, you can blame immigrants or you could blame your own ignorant culture
I'd love a racoon as a pet! They've got little hands!!! Or a squirrel. Groups of parakeets often visit my area but then disappear so they must move around & there's a pond full of red ears near me too. All I wanna see is the racoons!!!
We have raccoons!!!! An island here in Scotland had them then they died out due to lack of resources, many years ago now but if I seen one, it's going in my bag and coming home - couldn't care less what people say. Humans destroy the eco system a lot harsher than what any "invasive" species would do.