A Pacific Ocean native, the red lionfish is extremely venomous and has few natural predators. Unfortunately for the Western Atlantic, the red lionfish has been multiplying there and spreading throughout the Caribbean coral reefs and into the Gulf of Mexico. Unsure of how the red lionfish came to be in these new waters, their presence is often blamed on Hurricane Andrew. Whatever the reason for the red lionfish invasion, it is destroying the Caribbean eco-system. The red lionfish gobbles up the small reef fish and leave none for the native species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether put there on purpose or accidentally, wild invaders who have been introduced to new locations can often have a negative impact. The six troublesome animals below are causing havoc for the native species in the places they have invaded: Grey squirrels in Britain The native North American grey squirrels were originally introduced in Great Britain in 1876 as a fashionable addition to country estates. Unfortunately, the grey squirrel has driven out the native red squirrels. Not only are the grays bigger and stronger than the reds, they also carry a virus that the reds have no immunity to fight <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28064,"featured_media":11073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4048],"tags":[4027],"yoast_head":"\n