1. Incoming! The World’s 10 Worst Invasive Species

2. KUDZU ORIGIN – Japan & Southeast China
New Location(s) – Southern USA; New Jersey; Oregon
How it introduced - At the Philadelphia Centennial Expo of 1876 as a fast-growing ground cover
How it harmful - The vine is very fast-growing and overgrows, taking over native plant species

3. Rabbits Origin – Europe New Location – Australia
How it was introduced – Thomas Austin, in 1859, released 24 rabbits in Australia
How it is harmful – They destroy native plants; cause soil erosion; damage the food chains

4. Starlings Origin – Europe New Location – All over the USA
How it was introduced - In 1890, Eugene Schieffelin released 60 starlings in Central Park
How it is harmful – Decrease the numbers of native birds; $800 Million in agricultural losses; cause of deadly plane crashes

5. Burmese Python Origin – Asia New Location – Florida Everglades
How it was introduced – People released pets they no longer wanted into the areas surrounding the glades
How it is harmful – It has few predators so its numbers are not kept in check; it eats endangered species; disrupts the food chains

6. Cane Toads Origin – America (Texas)
New Location – Queensland, Australia
How it was introduced – Purposely released to control the population of beetles in sugar cane plantations
How it is harmful – Has toxins which kill would-be predators; eats native species reducing their numbers

7. Snakehead Fish Origin – East Asia & Africa
New Location – Leeds, England
How introduced – By fisheries
How harmful – They devour anything they can find; they can crawl on the ground & survive for 4 days breathing air

8. Eastern Grey Squirrel Origin – North America
New Location – Great Britain
How it was introduced – Deliberately introduced in the 19th century; the releasers were curious about grey squirrels
How it is harmful – Grey squirrels compete more successfully then the native Red Squirrels; grey squirrels also carry a virus that infects the red squirrels

9. Killer Bees (Africanized Honey Bees)
Origin – Sao Paulo, Brazil
New Locations- New Orleans, Southern Utah, throughout South America
How it was introduced – In 1957, 26 Tanzanian queen bees were accidentally released by a beekeeper and mated with honey bees
How it is harmful – The hybrid bees are VERY aggressive bees

10. Asian Carp Origin – China
New Locations - Midwestern USA; along the Mississippi River
Imported to clear the algae from catfish ponds in the Southern USA. Flooding allowed the carp to spread to the Mississippi River then to other locations
How harmful – Detrimental to the environment; Uproot natural vegetation

11. Rats Origin – Norwegian rats from Japanese boats
New Location – Alaska Aleutian Island Chain
How it was introduced – Norway rats escaped a shipwrecked Japanese boat in 1780
How it is harmful – Blamed for up to 60% of recorded extinction of Island birds & reptiles