Where Do Camels Belong
Thompson puts forward a fascinating array of narratives to explore this crucial question.
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Much of what passes for invasion biology is poorly supported hype. So says our author, and you can easily fall into agreeing with him after reading his book. In much the same way the Daily Mail et al have their own attitudes to immigrants of the human kind, so it would appear do many people have similar notions about immigrant species. And the end results might be much more damaging.
One problem is that the definition of an invasive species is more than woolly. Rabbits came over to Britain with the Romans; northern America had horses until they became extinct 8,000 years ago – then lo and behold the Spanish put them back. Many people in a silly survey a few years ago voted for ‘official’ ‘county flowers’ and picked a host of foreign imports. Who was on the throne of the UK when the collared dove was first in the wild? Our current queen was, that’s who.
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Man’s influence and preferences rule the animal kingdom, but the animals don’t know why there are fences and boundaries. They just want to survive.
