Barking deer tops UK’s ‘most wanted’ danger list
A barking deer, a Chinese crab and a Russian mussel have been named and shamed on a “most-wanted” list of Britain’s most dangerous invasive species.
While the muntjac, which was imported to British gameparks from its native China in the 1900s, looks innocuous enough, the dog-like deer is now considered the UK’s most destructive deer, devouring native woodland plants and crops, destroying bird habits and even attacking people, animals and even golfers.
The deer is sometimes mistaken for an Alsation dog because of its small stature and sharp bark, although male muntjac’s have short sharp antlers and tusks. It is also considered one of the most ancient breeds of deer and may have developed its aggressive streak fighting off predators 35 millions years ago.
But the real danger to British wildlife comes from the deer’s prodigious breeding rate which has enabled a burgeoning population to spread all over southern England and as far north as Yorkshire.
This week British wildlife watchers were urged to report muntjac sightings as part of a survey into the ecological and impact of six invasive species of animal and plant causing most concern to scientists. The others named were the Chinese mitten crab and the zebra mussel and tree of heaven, American skunk cabbage and creeping water primrose.
“Non-native species that become invasive are one of the greatest threats to wildlife worldwide,” said British wildlife minister Huw Irranca-Davies.
“They are estimated to cost the British economy at least £3billion a year, and their impacts can be far reaching – they have adverse impacts on our native wildlife by predation, competition and spread of disease. They can threaten economic interests such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries and development.”
Species sightings will be submitted online to the Recording Invasive Species Counts Web site and subsequently checked by experts from the relevant national biological recording scheme. Once verified, records will be added to a national database of species distribution information.
Helen Roy, a project leader on the count said that past wildlife counts had provided vital information about the spread of the invasive harlequin ladybird.
“People’s enthusiasm for recording wildlife is inspirational,” she said. “I am sure that the new surveys will be just as successful.”
Chinese mitten crabs arrived in UK waterways in the 1930s, discharged from the ballast tanks of ships. It is now well-established in rivers from the Thames to the Tyne. Its ability to travel large distances up river systems and cross dry land means that all waterbodies in Britain have the potential to be invaded.
The freshwater zebra mussel, which originated in southeastern Russia, also arrived in ballast tanks and can now be found all over England and Ireland and increasingly in Wales and Scotland.