Unwanted Guests: Top 10 Invasive Species Shaking Up Ecosystems

Today, we embark on a journey, a safari if you will, not through a scenic landscape filled with charismatic creatures but through a list of critters that are a little too charismatic for their own good. We're talking about invasive animal species. They might look harmless or even captivating, but their impacts on local ecosystems can be catastrophic. Let's deep-dive into the top 10 most infamous invasive animals and the havoc they wreak.

Thank you to the following for the use of their images/videos!

Teechippy, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Live_Formosan_Termites_in_Tree.webm
Nesnad, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burmesepython-tobudobutsuen-2012.ogv
Photo by KoolShooters : https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-holding-an-albino-burmese-python-8984467/
Alex Popovkin, Bahia, Brazil, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cane_toad_(Bufo_marinus).webm
Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cane_Toad_(Rhinella_marina)_adult_female_(10385875716).jpg
Holger Krisp, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wandermuschel_Dreissena_polymorpha.jpg
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dreissena_polymorpha_(I1957)_0265_(39449820624).jpg
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Magna_Carpa_2016.webm
Tony Webster from Portland, Oregon, United States, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22Attack_of_the_Asian_Carp!%22_%E2%80%94_The_Theater_of_Public_Policy_(8124057291).jpg
User:Soulgany101, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boiga_irregularis_coiled.jpg
Pavel Kirillov from St.Petersburg, Russia, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brown_tree_snake_(Boiga_irregularis)_(8387580552).jpg
PsamatheM, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:02-Grey_Squirrel_2021-09-13_nX2.webm
Penarc, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Linepithema_Argentine_ant.jpg
Alex Wild / © AntWeb.org https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Linepithema_humile_casent0106983_profile_1.jpg
CSIRO, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Feral_pig.jpg
Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Feral_Pigs_(Sus_scrofa)_-_Flickr_-_berniedup.jpg