On New Orleans' Solution, Gray Squirrels, and Other Disasters

I recently heard about a well-covered-up-for American meat shortage about 100 years ago (speaking of well-covered-up-for, every U.S. president has had multiple assassination attempts that the Secret Service doesn't tell us about). In addition to this meat shortage, which was caused by the rapidly growing population, the turn of the century United States had another problem: the water hyacinth, native to Brazil, had been introduced to Louisiana, where it was clogging drains, pipes, and rivers and competing with native species such as pickerelweed. Congress had an amazing solution: bring hippopotamus herds to Louisiana. The hippopotami would eat the water hyacinth in addition to providing a new meat source for the country. Can you think of a better idea than that?

Of course, this solution did not turn out very well. If Congress had been thinking (but that's too much to ask, I suppose), they would realize that introducing invasive species never turns out well. Ask any red squirrel in Ireland and they will wholeheartedly agree (if they understand the question). Red squirrels are native to Ireland but in 1911, some geniuses decided that gray squirrels would be a nice addition to Irish wildlife and released twelve at Castle Forbes, Co. Longford. Within a few decades, those twelve squirrels populated most of Ireland. Gray squirrels, from North America, are bigger and better at collecting food and surviving in deciduous woodland habitats. The only thing going for the red squirrels is that they weren't in a deciduous woodland habitat due to all of the deforestation in Ireland. The only good effect of deforestation I have heard so far.

So, that said, please keep your animals to yourself. Introducing species where they don't belong is a recipe for disaster. Also, please vote for me for Congress because I think I would do a much better job.