In the pet market, the Brazilian red-eared turtle has always been popular with some people, and this turtle native to the central United States got its name because of the two thick red stripes behind the eyes.
However, what many people do not know is that this seemingly harmless little turtle has become a serious threat to ecological security and species diversity.
The Brazilian red-eared turtle is arguably one of the most widespread and widespread species in the world today, spreading like a plague virus from a point on the Mississippi River to the entire planet, including China.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > The Brazilian red-eared turtle flooded China</h1>
In the 1980s, Guangdong Province took the lead in introducing the spotted turtle native to the Amazon region, considering the high cost of import, and then changed to the introduction of red-eared turtles produced near the Mississippi River in the United States, because the two are brightly colored and easy to confuse, so the name of "Brazilian turtle" has been continued.
The red-eared turtle is a very suitable turtle for pets, they can adapt to the climate of most parts of China, and eat everything, which is very convenient to keep. In addition, they are more lively than many native turtles, and their colorful bodies look more beautiful and cheap, so they have become a favorite pet for a long time.
However, as the number of red-eared turtles continues to increase, it is inevitable that there will be abandonment, and because of the large number of breeding, many red-eared turtles have fled from the breeding area. Red-eared turtles began to flood China.
The Brazilian red-eared turtle is active and agile. This also better helps it avoid predators and disasters, reduces the risk of being eaten and harmed, invisibly increases its resistance to predators, and makes it easier to obtain survival opportunities, which will also exclude species in the local ecosystem that occupy the same ecological niche as it.
They are very adaptable to the environment, although they are a freshwater turtle, but in the brackish water environment can also survive comfortably, both resistant to salinity, but also withstand the cold, coupled with their own alien species, in china's wild opponents can pose a threat to it.
In addition to their strong adaptability, they have a wide range of food and strong feeding ability, whether it is small fish, shrimp, snails, insects, small water birds near the shore, or some aquatic plants, all constitute a food source, although they are filling their stomachs, but they disrupt the balance of the local food network.
In addition, the red-eared turtle has the ability to reproduce at the age of two, and they can lay an average of 6-11 eggs per clutch, and can give birth to a wave of new life every two months, which means that they have the potential to lay sixty eggs a year.
Native tortoises do not begin to mature sexually until they are seven or eight years old. When the native tortoises mature and grow up, the red-eared turtles have long been full of descendants, grabbing food, and the native turtles are not the opponents of the Brazilian turtles at all, and the survey found that the appearance of the red-eared turtles almost invariably makes other native turtles extinct or endangered.
In addition, because of their ability to reproduce, they also contaminate the gene pool of local relatives through interspecific hybridization. Red-eared turtles and native turtles are crossed, and the large number of offspring will cause immeasurable damage to genetic integrity, and in the long run, native species may no longer exist.
Moreover, the red-eared turtle and some native turtles will also have the ability to reproduce because of reproductive isolation. Native turtles do not have healthy offspring and will also decline.
A significant number of red-eared turtles are also carriers and sources of infection for Salmonella, a pathogen that contaminates the land and water in the host's living area through feces and has the potential to transmit to amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, including humans, in this range. Symptoms are often manifested as diarrhea, cramps, fever, etc., and in severe cases, even death.
Especially for children, the harm is even worse, in addition to the low immunity, there is also part of the reason is that on the one hand, children often go to the pond to play, and the red-eared turtle has established a wild population in the natural water body, and the child is easily exposed to the fungal water.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > native turtles are endangered</h1>
China still imports about 8 million from abroad every year. About 30 million domestically farmed individuals are marketed every year. 38 million new red-eared turtles are added each year. This has not yet counted the number of individuals in the wild.
Brazilian red-eared turtle is favored in China, but the native turtle is on the verge of extinction, China's turtles and turtles have about 6 families and 18 genera and 33 species, in addition to the 3 species of the turtle genus have not yet been assessed, several species of the spotted turtle and the closed shell turtle genus have been assessed as critically endangered (VU), like the Yunnan closed shell turtle in the wild is basically determined to be extinct, the Hundred Colors closed shell turtle, the Zhou's closed shell turtle, the three-lined closed shell turtle is also basically endangered.
All species of the turtle family (except some closed-shelled turtles), flat-breasted turtles and Burmese tortoises were assessed as endangered, while all species of the turtle family, concave-beaked tortoises, four-clawed tortoises and Chinese turtles were assessed as vulnerable (VU).
In addition to squeezing the living space of native turtles because of the flood of red-eared turtles, there is also the public that the public does not realize that China's native turtles have gradually decreased, endangered, and are randomly fished in the wild.
The Chinese nation's worship of turtles has a long history, and turtle culture has penetrated into astronomical, geographical, political, military, customs and even human ideologies, and turtles have been given a variety of symbolic meanings. Hopefully, in a few years, the native Chinese tortoises will disappear from the land of China and the turtle culture will be cut off.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > can the red-eared turtle be wiped out by Chinese foodies</h1>?
Red-eared turtles have no natural enemies in Our country and cannot be released at will. In addition to 'extermination', 'eating' should be the best way to control the breeding of Brazilian turtles.
The red-eared turtle is edible and delicious. However, because of the "cute pet" aura of the red-eared turtle in the eyes of many people, many people cannot accept eating the red-eared turtle.
In the past few years, when the Brazilian turtle appeared at the aquatic product counter of the supermarket and slaughtered at a price of more than 50 yuan / kg, it was opposed by many people, "Just like kittens and puppies, Brazilian turtles are also pets." Eating turtle meat is like eating cat meat and dog meat, which is awkward."
However, even if it is eaten, it is also a farmed population, and the wild population is still difficult to improve because it is not clear whether it has mutated due to environmental changes, or carries toxic substances and harmful organisms that may exist in the local water environment, so it is generally not allowed to circulate in the regular market and supermarket.
Therefore, it is still difficult to solve the problem of red-eared turtle flooding by relying on Chinese foodies alone. In fact, in China, there is no invasive species that can be solved by eating, like crayfish, we usually eat farmed species, they can be said to be flooded in the wild, such as Yunnan.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > summary</h1>
The United States banned domestic trade in non-adult red-eared turtles in 1975, Europe banned the import of red-eared turtles in 1997, and South Korea banned the import of red-eared turtles in 2001. However, there are no legislative norms in our country, and it all depends on moral restraint and public opinion propaganda.
China should ban the import of red-eared turtles, regulate local farming, and scientifically suppress large-scale wild populations that have formed in natural water bodies.
For example, scientists try to use the red-eared turtle to eliminate the same flood of Fushou snail, especially the best effect on the prevention and control of small snails, scientists have found that Fushou snails in the Brazilian turtle under the direct predation of the Brazilian turtle, only 1/3 of the individuals survive after 14 days, of which, the survival rate of small snails (shell height 5 ~ 15 mm) and medium snails (shell height 15 ~ 25 mm) respectively decreased to 0 and 40%, 2/3 of the large snails (shell height 25 ~ 35 mm) survived, but the damage rate reached 45% of the surviving individuals. Under the indirect interference, the feeding intake of Fushou snail decreased significantly, and the corresponding individual growth was inhibited. It can be said that the effect is very obvious.
Scientists recommend fishing wild stocks into the flooded area of Fushou snails, within a moderate range, to achieve the effect of attacking poison with poison.
There are many examples of red-eared turtles who have been kept as pets but have escaped into the wild for various reasons, such as the grey squirrel in the United Kingdom (Sciurus carolinensis), the little Indian badger in Hawaii (Herpestes javanicus), and the domestic cat on many islands.
The characteristics of the red-eared turtle are very recognizable, and there are two thick red stripes behind the eyes that give rise to the name. I hope that you will not release and abandon it at will, which will have a serious impact on the natural environment. In addition, if you see other species of turtles in the wild, you also hope not to catch them at will.