Title: Exotic Intruders

Author: Joan Druett

Publication details: Heinemann, 1983, Auckland

Digital publication kindly authorised by: Joan Druett

Part of: New Zealand Texts Collection

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Exotic Intruders

Acclimatisation in Europe

page 95

Acclimatisation in Europe

The introduction of exotic animals into a new environment is by no means unique to nineteenth century Australia and New Zealand. The Romans were acclimatisers on a frivolous scale: the Egyptian mongoose, a pretty animal the size of a large cat and with a pointed nose, was once sacred to the ancient Egyptian goddess Mafdet, who gave protection against snake-bite. It became fashionable for Roman matrons to have one as a pet, and in this way the animal was introduced to Iberia. It is still found in Spain today, feeding mostly on rabbits and rodents, but also catching the virulently poisonous Montpellier snakes; it was introduced to Italy in the 1960s as a biological control against snakes.

The Romans were also fond of driving rabbits from their burrows with ferrets, and they bred the ferret for this sport from the wild polecat. It is popularly believed that the Romans introduced both the rabbit and the ferret to Britain so they could have their pleasure; other sources claim that this did not happen until the thirteenth century.

A much more recent introduction to Europe is the raccoon dog, a native of Thailand-Vietnam, brought to European Russia in 1927 for the fur trade. It thrived in the steppes of the new country; amazingly so, considering that it hails from the warm jungles of eastern Asia. The raccoon dogs spread westward and are now found as far away as Switzerland, Germany and Scandinavia. Their diet may have helped in their success: they are largely vegetarian, feeding on fruit, nuts and grain as well as insects, rodents and grass-snakes. The American mink was first farmed in Europe in the late 1920s, and, being as agile as the rest of the mustelids, quickly escaped and set up feral colonies. Again like the other mustelids, it is solitary when not breeding and so has rapidly spread. When news of this was first heard, there was general concern that it would be a serious competitor with the otter and European mink for available food. As far as the European mink is concerned, such concern has turned out to be justified; the American mink is a bigger, more aggressive animal, and evidence suggests that the European variety is going to be driven out before long. The otter, a more expert fisherman, is managing to coexist with the American mink.

Acclimatisation has also been a hobby of modern politicians. The American raccoon was introduced to Europe as a fur-bearer by the late unlamented Hermann Goering. He farmed the animals for a while, and then either the project failed or he got bored, and the raccoons were liberated. They have spread along the Mosel Valley and have been seen in the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The raccoons had to adapt to open country and have been very successful in this, as they have a wide range of diet and are happy living in close association with people, scavenging from rubbish tins and garbage dumps. They can be a nuisance on poultry farms, even climbing trees to take roosting fowls; they also raid vegetable and fruit crops, so cannot be described as a popular introduction.